New iron drug improves anemia with kidney disease

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with ferumoxytol, a new iron drug that is given intravenously, is more effective against anemia than standard iron therapy, which is given by mouth, in patients with chronic kidney disease, results of a new study indicate.

Anemia, which typically involves symptoms of fatigue and weakness, is common in patients with chronic kidney disease and usually relates to decreased production of a chemical that stimulates the production of red blood cells. In some patients, however, low iron levels may be a contributing factor.

In the present study, Dr. Annamaria Krausz, at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues assessed the outcomes of 304 patients with kidney disease and anemia who were randomly assigned to receive two ferumoxytol doses given within 1 week or daily oral iron therapy for 21 days. About 40 percent of the subjects were also taking drugs designed to stimulate red blood cell production.

Compared with oral iron therapy, treatment with ferumoxytol produced a greater increase in blood levels of hemoglobin, indicating that the drug was more effective in treating anemia. Moreover, ferumoxytol was well tolerated and less likely to cause side effects than oral iron therapy.

Given its effectiveness, ferumoxytol may help patients reduce their dosage of red blood cell-stimulating drugs or avoid these agents all together.

The study findings will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

According to a press statement, AMAG Pharmaceuticals has submitted these trial results to the US Food and Drug Administration as part of a New Drug Application seeking marketing approval for ferumoxytol to treat iron deficiency anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, August 2008.