Bayer's finerenone meets primary goal in Phase III

German pharma and crop sciences company Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Phase III study FIGARO-DKD, evaluating the efficacy and safety of the investigational drug finerenone versus placebo when added to standard of care in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), has met its primary endpoint, showing that finerenone significantly reduced the composite risk of time to first occurrence of cardiovascular (CV) death or non-fatal CV events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure hospitalization).

Compared to FIDELIO-DKD, the first of the two Phase III studies investigating finerenone in patients with CKD and T2D, FIGARO-DKD included more patients with earlier stage CKD and T2D, Bayer noted.

Berenberg and Deutsche Bank analysts have previously suggested potential sales for finerenone of $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion, respectively.

“An estimated 160 million patients globally are living with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes, and they are at high risk of experiencing cardiovascular events, as well as progressing to kidney failure,” said Prof Luis Ruilope, Professor at the Cardiorenal Translational Laboratory and Hypertension Unit, Institute of Research imas12, Madrid, Spain, and co-principal investigator of the FIGARO-DKD trial.