STAT+: Otsuka kidney drug slowed loss of function, but less than expected, in late-stage trial

Otsuka’s Voyxact slowed the loss of kidney function after one year in patients with a chronic autoimmune kidney disease, but the benefit was less than expected and left room for competing treatments to perform better. 

In a Phase 3 study, patients with IgA nephropathy, or IgAN, who received injections of Voyxact saw their kidneys lose function at an annualized rate of 3 points over one year compared to an annualized function loss of 7.6 points over one year for patients receiving a placebo, the Japanese drugmaker reported Thursday. 

Kidney function was assessed with a lab test, called eGFR, that measures how well kidneys filter waste from the blood. 

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