08 Jul Study Finds LOKELMA™ (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate) Reduces Elevated Potassium in Hemodialysis Patients

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Fishbane

Steven Fishbane MD
Chief, Division of Kidney Disease and Hypertension
Vice President, Northwell Health for Network Dialysis Services, Northwell Health
Professor of Medicine
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Department of Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell,
Great Neck, New York 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Patients on hemodialysis have a great frequency of hyperkalemia. The hemodialysis treatment removes some potassium but not enough to get rid of this problem. Available medications to bind potassium have not been tested among these patients.

The purpose of the study was to see if sodium zirconium cyclosilicate could be used as a potassium binder to reduce the risk of hyperkalemia in patients on a hemodialysis.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: We found that compared to placebo that sodium zirconium cyclosilicate was very effective for reducing the incidence of hyperkalemia. In addition the drug was very well tolerated. SZC reduced potassium concentrations consistently throughout the study avoiding hyperkalemia and keeping the pre-dialysis potassium level after the long weekend intradialytic, at a safe level in most patients. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: LOKELMA™(sodium zirconium cyclosilicate) shows great promise in the ability to avoid hyperkalemia and it’s important risks, and patients on hemodialysis.  

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: There are several other aspects that would be important including the extent to which the use of this drug could help prevent complications of hyperkalemia including cardiac events. In addition, it would be interesting to see if patients could eat healthier diet’s, with more vegetables and fruits despite the increase in potassium intake

I do research and consult for AstraZeneca.

Citation:

AstraZeneca presented positive results from the Phase IIIb DIALIZE trial as a late-breaking abstract at the 56th European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Congress in Budapest, Hungary,, which investigated the efficacy and safety of Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate) for the treatment of hyperkalaemia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on haemodialysis

A Phase 3b, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate for Reducing the Incidence of Predialysis Hyperkalemia

Steven Fishbane, Martin Ford, Masafumi Fukagawa, Kieran McCafferty, Anjay Rastogi, Bruce Spinowitz, Konstantin Staroselskiy, Konstantin Vishnevskiy, Vera Lisovskaja, Ayman Al-Shurbaji, Nicolas Guzman and Sunil Bhandari
JASN June 2019, ASN.2019050450; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2019050450

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Last Updated on July 8, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD