First new kidney treatment in 20 years delays dialysis and transplant

A breakthrough new treatment is giving hope to Australians suffering from a deadly chronic condition.

Exclusive: People with chronic kidney disease will benefit from the first new treatment for the condition in 20 years when the drug Forxiga is subsidised from September 1.

The new medication slows the progression of kidney deterioration and it means some patients won’t need dialysis or kidney transplantation.

The drug Forxiga (dapagliflozin) was originally developed for use in diabetes and it also reduces blood pressure.

One in 10 Australians suffers from chronic kidney disease, and one in three have risk factors.

More than 14,500 Australians are on dialysis, 14,000 are living with a kidney transplant, and the condition is estimated to cost the health system $5 billion a year.

Westmead Hospital nephrologist Dr Richard Phoon said Forxiga was a game changer.

“It’s like going from the first generation smart phone to the current generation. It’s a significant step up,” he said.

An illustration of a human kidneys cross section. Picture: iStock

The treatment affects glucose and sodium transport in the kidneys and reduces the pressure across the kidney filters, Dr Phoon said.

A trial in 4000 patients with kidney disease, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020, found the drug reduced by 45 per cent the need for dialysis or transplantation as well as deaths from kidney disease.

Many people affected by kidney disease can lose up to 90 per cent of their kidney function before noticeable symptoms appear.

There are long waits for organ transplants and patients at the end stage of the disease face time consuming and uncomfortable dialysis treatments.

Chair of Kidney Health Australia and deputy chair of Australian Organ Tissue and Transplant Authority Professor Carol Pollock, OA, said the reimbursement of a new effective treatment gives clinicians more options to help manage proteinuric chronic kidney disease.

As a result of the subsidy, general patients will pay just $42.50 for Forxiga and concession card holders, $6.80.

“Patients diagnosed with proteinuric chronic kidney disease currently have few treatment options. The priority is to slow the progression to dialysis and kidney transplantation. This medicine has been used to manage type 2 diabetes and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and it is pleasing to see that it will now be available as an accessible option supporting the treatment of patients diagnosed with proteinuric chronic kidney disease,” Professor Pollock said.

Patient is helped during adialysis session in hospital. Picture: iStock

Indigenous Australians are almost four times as likely as non-indigenous Australians to die of kidney disease, and many have to leave loved ones and their homes to receive dialysis treatment.

The new treatment is expected to be of enormous benefit in this group, and the subsidy announcement will be made by Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Senator Malandirri McCarthy, in Darwin on Wednesday.

“Chronic kidney disease takes a heavy physical, social and economic toll on First Nations communities, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people twice as likely to have the condition.” Senator McCarthy said.

“The subsidisation of this life-changing treatment is a step in the right direction and a great addition to Labor’s ambitious First Nations health agenda,” she said.

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s president in Australia Benjamin McDonald thanked the Australian Government for subsidising the treatment.

“The PBS is critical to ensuring Australians have access to the latest innovative medicines,” said Mr McDonald.

Side effects of Forxiga include: low blood sugar, genital infections, urinary tract infections (UTI), back pain, changes in the amount of cholesterol or fats in your blood, headache.