PKD Life - Spring 2022 - 22

MARK AIRS/IKON IMAGES
THE RESEARCH REPORT
Drugs in the Pipeline
By Debra Gordon
Here's where things stand for
two medications for ADPKD
currently in clinical trials.
R ight now, just one therapy is approved to treat
ADPKD-tolvaptan-but more are on the way.
Here's an update on two of the most promising medications
in development. If all goes well, you might see
them available within the next fi ve years.
BARDOXOLONE
No matter what the cause-
genetic, lifestyle, or other
diseases-ongoing infl ammation
damages tissues and
drives chronic kidney diseases
(CKD) like ADPKD. So,
addressing that underlying
issue of persistent infl ammation
should help slow CKD
progression. That's the main
premise behind bardoxolone,
which activates Nrf2,
a unique anti-infl ammatory
and anti-fi brotic mechanism.
Thus, bardoxolone may protect
the kidney from further
damage and preserve its
ability to fi lter waste from
the blood.
In ADPKD, low levels of
Nrf2 are thought to generate
higher levels of infl ammation,
which also drives
the cyst growth that is the
hallmark of the disease,
22 PKD LIFE * SPRING 2022
PKD Life - Spring 2022

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