Bi-monthly Procrit effective in CKD anemia

USA-based biopharmaceutical firm Ortho Biotech Products, a Johnson & Johnson company, says that data from a study of its anemia treatment Procrit (epoetin alfa), show that the agent brought the hemoglobin levels of pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease sufferers within the target range, when provided as a twice-monthly treatment regimen.

In total, the trial enrolled 67 patients with chronic kidney disease who had not begun receiving dialysis treatment, and was an open-label, single-arm, multicenter investigation of the compound. The company said that, during the study, 20,000 units of the drug were administered intravenously to patients once every two weeks, with the primary endpoint of the program being to determine the agent's affect on hemoglobin concentration. The firm added that the Food and Drug Administration currently approves a 50-100 units/kg three-times-per-week dosage of the drug for this particular patient population.

The results showed that 88% of those who received Procrit in the study achieved the target hemoglobin level of between 11g and 12g per deciliter of blood, for a period of at least two consecutive weeks, by week 28 of the program. Furthermore, target levels were achieved an average of six weeks into the trial and were maintained for the remainder of the assessment.