Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Roxadustat in the Treatment of Anemia in Participants With ESRD on Stable Dialysis

A Phase 3, Open-Label, Randomized, Active-Controlled Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Roxadustat (FG-4592) in the Maintenance Treatment of Anemia in Subjects With End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) on Stable Dialysis

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of roxadustat compared with active control (epoetin alfa) for the maintenance treatment of anemia in participants with ESRD on dialysis.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: CKD Anemia in Stable Dialysis Patients
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Roxadustat; Drug: Epoetin Alfa

Detailed Description

This study will consist of three study periods as follows:

1. Screening Period of up to 6 weeks (8 weeks if on Mircera)
2. Treatment Period: a minimum of 52 weeks, a maximum of up to 3 years from the date last participant is randomized. Minimum study duration for participants enrolled under Protocol Amendment 1 or 2 may be less than 52 weeks
3. A Follow-up period of 4 weeks.

Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either roxadustat or epoetin alfa (active control) in an open-label manner.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 741
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Puerto Rico
  • Caguas, Puerto Rico, 00725
    • Research Center
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00926
    • Research Center
• United States
  • Arizona
    • Phoenix, Arizona, United States, 85012
      • Research Center
  • Arkansas
    • Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States, 71603
      • Research Center
  • California
    • Chula Vista, California, United States, 91910
      • Research Center
    • Chula Vista, California, United States, 91915
      • Research Center
    • La Mesa, California, United States, 91942
      • Research Center
    • Long Beach, California, United States, 90806
      • Research Center
    • Long Beach, California, United States, 90813
      • Research Center
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90057
      • Research Center
    • Northridge, California, United States, 91324
      • Research Center
    • Ontario, California, United States, 91762
      • Research Center
    • Roseville, California, United States, 95661
      • Research Center
    • San Diego, California, United States, 92111
      • Research Center
    • San Dimas, California, United States, 91773
      • Research Center
    • San Gabriel, California, United States, 91776
      • Research Center
    • Whittier, California, United States, 90603
      • Research Center
  • Florida
    • Coral Springs, Florida, United States, 33071
      • Research Center
    • Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, United States, 33313
      • Research Center
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33143
      • Research Center
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33173
      • Research Center
    • Pembroke Pines, Florida, United States, 33028
      • Research Center
    • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33614
      • Research Center
  • Georgia
    • Albany, Georgia, United States, 31701
      • Research Center
  • Idaho
    • Meridian, Idaho, United States, 83642
      • Research Center
  • Louisiana
    • Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, 71101
      • Research Center
  • Massachusetts
    • Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, 01107
      • Research Center
  • Michigan
    • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48202
      • Research Center
    • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48236
      • Research Center
    • Pontiac, Michigan, United States, 48341
      • Research Center
  • Mississippi
    • Brookhaven, Mississippi, United States, 39601
      • Research Center
    • Columbus, Mississippi, United States, 39705
      • Research Center
    • Gulfport, Mississippi, United States, 39501
      • Research Center
    • Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, 38801
      • Research Center
  • Missouri
    • Creve Coeur, Missouri, United States, 63141
      • Research Center
    • Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64131
      • Research Center
    • Saint Ann, Missouri, United States, 63074
      • Research Center
    • Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
      • Research Center
  • New Hampshire
    • Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States, 03885
      • Research Center
  • New Jersey
    • North Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, 08902
      • Research Center
  • New Mexico
    • Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87109
      • Research Center
    • Gallup, New Mexico, United States, 87301
      • Research Center
  • New York
    • College Point, New York, United States, 11356
      • Research Center
    • New York, New York, United States, 11355
      • Research Center
  • North Carolina
    • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28204
      • Research Center
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27704
      • Research Center
    • Greenville, North Carolina, United States, 27834
      • Research Center
    • New Bern, North Carolina, United States, 28562
      • Research Center
    • Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, 27609
      • Research Center
    • Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States, 27804
      • Research Center
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
      • Research Center
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43215
      • Research Center
  • South Carolina
    • Aiken, South Carolina, United States, 29803
      • Research Center
    • Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 29203
      • Research Center
    • Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States, 29118
      • Research Center
    • Sumter, South Carolina, United States, 29150
      • Research Center
  • Tennessee
    • Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, 37923
      • Research Center
    • Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, 37924
      • Research Center
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
      • Research Center
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37205
      • Research Center
  • Texas
    • Arlington, Texas, United States, 76015-2368
      • Research Center
    • Edinburg, Texas, United States, 78539
      • Research Center
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76104
      • Research Center
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76105
      • Research Center
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76112
      • Research Center
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76133
      • Research Center
    • Fort Worth, Texas, United States, 76164
      • Research Center
    • Grand Prairie, Texas, United States, 75050
      • Research Center
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77054
      • Research Center
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77099
      • Research Center
    • Lubbock, Texas, United States, 79430
      • Research Center
    • Mansfield, Texas, United States, 76063
      • Research Center
    • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78202
      • Research Center
    • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78221
      • Research Center
  • Virginia
    • Alexandria, Virginia, United States, 20735
      • Research Center
  • Wisconsin
    • Shorewood, Wisconsin, United States, 53226
      • Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Receiving dialysis for ESRD for ≥3 months. Incident dialysis participants (under Amendment 1 and 2) receiving dialysis for ESRD for ≥ 2 weeks but ≤ 4 months at the time of randomization
• Participants must be on ESA for ≥ 8 weeks prior to screening; incident dialysis participants must be on ESA for ≥ 4 weeks prior to screening.
• Mean of the 3 most recent central lab Hb values during the Screening Period must be ≥ 9.0 g/dL and ≤ 12.0 g/dL (for incident dialysis participants, mean of the 2 most recent Hb values must be ≥ 8.5 g/dL and ≤ 12.0 g/dL); with an absolute difference of ≤ 1.3 g/dL between the highest and the lowest value. Samples are obtained at least 4 days apart (2 days under Amendment 2) and the last Hb value must be within 10 days prior to the randomization visit
• Participants with ferritin level ≥ 100 nanograms (ng)/milliliter (mL) (<100 ng/mL under Amendment 2) or transferrin saturation (TSAT) ≥ 20% (<20% under Amendment 2) at screening may qualify upon receiving iron supplement (per local standard of care)
• Participants with a serum folate and Vitamin B12 ≥ lower limit of normal (LLN) (< LLN under Amendment 2) at screening may qualify upon receiving supplement (per local standard of care)
• Participant's alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are ≤3x the upper limit of normal (ULN), and total bilirubin (TBL) is ≤1.5x ULN at screening
• Participant's body weight is 45 kilograms (kg) to 160 kg.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participant has received an red blood cell (RBC) transfusion within 8 weeks (4 weeks under Amendment 2) prior to randomization
• Participant has known history of myelodysplastic syndrome or multiple myeloma
• Participant has known inherited disease such as thalassemia or sickle cell anemia or other known causes for anemia other than chronic kidney disease.
• Participant has known hemosiderosis, hemochromatosis, coagulation disorder,or hypercoagulable condition
• Participant has known chronic inflammatory disease that could cause anemia
• Participant has anticipated surgery that is expected to cause blood loss
• Participant has known gastrointestinal bleeding
• Participant has history of chronic liver disease (for example, chronic infectious hepatitis,chronic auto-immune liver disease,cirrhosis, or fibrosis of the liver)
• Participant with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or IV congestive heart failure
• Participant has had a heart attack, stroke, seizure, or a thrombotic/thromboembolic event (for example, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) within 12 weeks prior to participating in the study
• Participant has uncontrolled high blood pressure within 2 weeks prior to participating in the study
• Participant has a history of malignancy, except for the following: cancers determined to be cured or in remission for ≥2 years, curatively resected basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers, cervical cancer in situ, or resected colonic polyps.)
• Participant is positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B surface antigen, or anti-hepatitis C virus antibody
• Participant with prior organ transplant who experience rejection within 6 months or on high doses of immunosuppressive therapy
• Participant has any of the following known untreated conditions; proliferative diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, macular degeneration or retinal vein occlusion.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Roxadustat; Participants will receive roxadustat tablets, administered orally 3 times weekly (TIW). Initial roxadustat dose will be based on the participant's average prescribed erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA) dose in the 4 weeks (if on epoetin or darbepoetin or 8 weeks (if on Mircera®) prior to randomization. Dose adjustments will be permitted to maintain a hemoglobin (Hb) level of approximately 11 grams (g)/deciliter (dL). The maximum roxadustat dose is 3.0 milligrams (mg)/kilogram (kg) per dose or 400 mg per administration (whichever is lower).	Drug: Roxadustat; Roxadustat will be administered per dose and schedule specified in the arm.; Other Names: FG-4592
Active Comparator: Epoetin Alfa; Participants on hemodialysis (HD) will receive epoetin alfa, administered intravenously (IV) TIW and participants on home HD or peritoneal dialysis (PD) will receive epoetin alfa, administered subcutaneously (SC). Initial epoetin alfa dose will be based on the participant's average weekly prescribed ESA dose in 4 weeks prior to randomization if on epoetin or darbepoetin, and average monthly (4-week) prescribed ESA dose in 8 weeks prior to randomization if on Mircera®. In case of a change in route of administration from SC to IV (TIW), the initial dose of IV epoetin alfa will be determined by the investigator per local standard of care (SOC). Dose adjustments will follow the recommendations as per the approved country-specific product label (United States Package Insert [USPI] or Summary of Product Characteristics [SmPC]) or local SOC.	Drug: Epoetin Alfa; Epoetin alfa will be administered per dose and schedule specified in the arm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
US (FDA) Submission: Mean Hb Change From Baseline to The Average Level During The Evaluation Period (Weeks 28 to 52), Regardless of Rescue Therapy	Hb values under the influence of rescue therapy were not censored in the analysis. Rescue therapy for roxadustat treated participants was defined as recombinant erythropoietin or analogue (ESA) or red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, and rescue therapy for epoetin alfa treated participants was defined as RBC transfusion. Baseline Hb was defined the mean of up to 4 last central lab values prior to the first dose of study treatment. The intermittent missing Hb data was imputed for each treatment relying on non-missing data from all participants within each treatment group using the Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) imputation model, Monotone missing data were imputed by regression from its own treatment group.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 28 to 52
Ex-U.S. Submission: Mean Hb Change From Baseline to the Average Weeks 28 to 36, Without Having Received Rescue Therapy Within 6 Weeks Prior to and During This 8-Week Evaluation Period for Participants Enrolled Under the Original Protocol	Hb values under the influence of rescue therapy were censored up to 6 weeks in the analysis. Rescue therapy for roxadustat treated participants was defined as recombinant erythropoietin or analogue (ESA) or RBC transfusion, and rescue therapy for epoetin alfa treated participants was defined as RBC transfusion. Baseline Hb was defined the mean of up to 4 last central lab values prior to the first dose of study treatment.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 28 to 36

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
US (FDA Submission): Hb Responder Rate- Percentage of Participants With Mean Hb Level ≥10.0 g/dL Averaged Over Weeks 28 to 52, Regardless of Rescue Therapy	Hb values under the influence of rescue therapy were not censored in the analysis. Rescue therapy for roxadustat treated participants was defined as recombinant erythropoietin or analogue (ESA) or RBC transfusion, and rescue therapy for epoetin alfa treated participants was defined as RBC transfusion.	Weeks 28 to 52
Ex-U.S. Submission: Hb Responder Rate- Percentage of Participants With Mean Hb 10.0 to 12.0 g/dL Averaged Over Weeks 28 to 36, Censoring for Rescue Therapy	Hb values under the influence of a rescue therapy were censored up to 6 weeks in the analysis. Rescue therapy for roxadustat treated participants was defined as recombinant erythropoietin or analogue (ESA) or RBC transfusion, and rescue therapy for epoetin alfa treated participants was defined as RBC transfusion.	Weeks 28 to 36
Change From Baseline in Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol Averaged Over Weeks 12 to 28	Baseline LDL Cholesterol was defined as the last available value prior to the first dose of study treatment.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 12 to 28
Change From Baseline in Hb Levels Averaged Over Weeks 18 to 24 Regardless of Rescue Therapy in Participants Whose Baseline High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (Hs-CRP)> Upper Limit of Normal (ULN)	Hb values under the influence of rescue therapy were not censored in the analysis. Rescue therapy for roxadustat treated participants was defined as recombinant erythropoietin or analogue (ESA) or RBC transfusion, and rescue therapy for epoetin alfa treated participants was defined as RBC transfusion. Baseline Hb was defined the mean of up to 4 last central lab values prior to the first dose of study treatment. The intermittent missing Hb data was imputed for each treatment relying on non-missing data from all participants within each treatment group using the MCMC imputation model, Monotone missing data were imputed by regression from its own treatment group.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 18 to 24
Average Monthly IV Iron Use Per Patient-Exposure-Month (PEM) During Weeks 28 to 52	Monthly iron use for each participant= Total IV iron in mg / [(last dose date - first dose date of study medication in the period)+1]/ 28.	Weeks 28 to 52
Time to First RBC Transfusion	Median time to event (weeks) was calculated using Kaplan Meier Survival Estimates.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0) up to last dose of study drug (maximum treatment duration was 183.7 weeks for roxadustat and 180.4 weeks for epoetin alfa)
Change From Baseline in Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) Averaged Over Weeks 20 to 28	Baseline MAP was defined as the mean of values obtained within 6 weeks prior to the first dose of study treatment.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 20 to 28
Time to First Exacerbation of Hypertension During Weeks 28 to 52	An exacerbation of hypertension was defined as increase from baseline of ≥20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (sBP) and sBP ≥170 mmHg or an increase from baseline of ≥15 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure (dBP) and dBP ≥100 mmHg. Median time to event (weeks) was calculated using Kaplan Meier Survival Estimates.	Weeks 28 to 52
Change From Baseline in Short Form 36 (SF-36) Version 2 Physical Functioning Subscore and Vitality Subscore at Weeks 12 to 28	The SF-36 V2 consists of 36 questions covering 8 health domains: physical functioning (10 items), bodily pain (2 items), role limitations due to physical problems (4 items), role limitations due to emotional problems (3 items), general health perceptions (5 items), mental health (5 items), social function (2 items), and vitality (4 items). The physical functioning subscore and vitality subscore are reported. Each scale was transformed into 0-100 score, with higher scores indicating better health status. Baseline score was defined as the last physical functioning value or vitality value, as applicable, prior to the first dose of study drug.	Baseline (Day 1, Week 0), Weeks 12 to 28

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: FibroGen
• Collaborators: AstraZeneca; Astellas Pharma Europe B.V.
• Investigators: Study Director: Meraf Eyassu, FibroGen

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Natale P, Palmer SC, Jaure A, Hodson EM, Ruospo M, Cooper TE, Hahn D, Saglimbene VM, Craig JC, Strippoli GF. Hypoxia-inducible factor stabilisers for the anaemia of chronic kidney disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Aug 25;8(8):CD013751. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013751.pub2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 15, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 19, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 19, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 22, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 23, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): October 24, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 29, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2021
• Last Verified: September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: hemoglobin; Anemia; erythropoiesis stimulating agent; Chronic Kidney Disease; peritoneal dialysis; End stage renal disease; Dialysis; hemodialysis; Stable Dialysis; erythropoietins
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Hematologic Diseases; Anemia; Hematinics; Epoetin Alfa
• Other Study ID Numbers: FGCL-4592-064

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No