AstraZeneca India (AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited) recently announced the full results from the clinical trials of its latest diabetes drug, dapagliflozin, showing significant benefits in reducing chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression in patients with and without type-2 diabetes. The DAPA-CKD study concluded globally on 30^th March 2020 based on its effectiveness and safety. 

Global disease burden report of 2015 pointed out that CKD is the 12th most common cause of death with a 37.1% rise in mortality over 10 years. The prevalence of CKD in India is estimated to be 17.2%, given its population >1 billion, the rising incidence of CKD is likely to pose major problems for both healthcare and the economy in future years. 

Detailed results from the ground-breaking Phase III DAPA-CKD trial showed that AstraZeneca’s Dapagliflozin on top of standard of care reduced the composite measure of worsening of renal function or risk of cardiovascular (CV) or renal death by 39% compared to placebo (p<0.0001) in patients with CKD Stages 2-4 and elevated urinary albumin excretion. The results were consistent in patients both with and without type-2 diabetes (T2D).

The primary composite endpoint was ≥50% sustained decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the onset of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and CV or renal death. The absolute risk reduction (ARR) was 5.3% over the median time in study of 2.4 years. DAPA-CKD is the first trial to demonstrate efficacy, including improvement on survival, in CKD patients both with and without Type2 Diabetes.