India-based Zydus Lifesciences has announced that its innovative drug Desidustat tablets, licensed to the subsidiary of China Medical System (CMS) Holdings, has been approved for renal anaemia in China by the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA).
CMS International Development and Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMS had obtained an exclusive license for the drug from Zydus in 2020. Desidustat tablets are administered orally and represent a novel, oral Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibitor (HIF-PHI) for treating anaemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients.
CKD involves the gradual loss of kidney function and eventually leads to kidney failure. Healthy kidneys naturally secrete a hormone called Erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates red blood cell production, also known as erythropoiesis. When kidneys are impaired in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease, EPO production is reduced, leading to the development of anaemia. HIF-PHI promotes erythropoiesis by increasing endogenous erythropoietin, reducing hepcidin thereby improving iron availability.
Desidustat is discovered, developed and marketed by Zydus in India under the brand name Oxemia™. More than 1 lakh CKD patients in India have been successfully treated with Oxemia™ since its launch in 2022.
There is still a large unmet need in the treatment of anaemia in CKD patients in China. It is estimated that there are more than 120 million CKD patients in China. Anaemia is one of the frequent complications of CKD, and its incidence increases progressively with disease progression.
