A randomized crossover study of single biweekly administration of epoetin-α compared with darbepoetin-α in chronic kidney disease patients not receiving dialysis.

Background Recent evidence demonstrates that high doses of epoetin-alpha (EPO-α) can be administrated at extended intervals, despite its relatively short serum half-life. However, no prospective randomized trials on the effects of extended dosing intervals of EPO-α compared with darbepoetin-alpha (DA-α) have been performed. This study was designed to investigate whether a single biweekly (Q2W) administration of a high dose of EPO-α is as effective as DA-α for anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients not receiving dialysis.