Darbepoetin alfa administered every other week maintains hemoglobin levels over 52 weeks in patients with chronic kidney disease converting from once-weekly recombinant human erythropoietin: results from simplify the treatment of anemia with Aranesp (STAAR).

Background/Aim: Darbepoetin alfa, an effective treatment for anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD), can be administered at extended intervals. Simplify the Treatment of Anemia with Aranesp® (STAAR), a multicenter, 52-week study, was conducted to assess the efficacy of darbepoetin alfa administered subcutaneously every other week (Q2W) in maintaining hemoglobin (Hb) in CKD patients not receiving dialysis. Methods: This is a subgroup analysis of subjects converted from once-weekly (QW) recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO; US Aranesp package insert) and who received up to 52 weeks of darbepoetin alfa therapy (evaluation period 20–32 weeks). Enrolled subjects had a creatinine clearance ≤70 ml/min or an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤60 ml/min and transferrin saturation ≧20%. Darbepoetin alfa doses were titrated to maintain Hb levels ≤12 g/dl. The primary endpoint was mean Hb during evaluation. Results: There were 524 subjects enrolled in the study who were previously receiving rHuEPO QW. Mean Hb ± standard deviation was 11.2 ± 1.27 g/dl at baseline, and the least squares mean ± SE was 11.4 ± 0.04 during evaluation. The mean ± SD Q2W darbepoetin alfa dose was 49.7 ± 21.9 µg at baseline and 48.9 ± 35.5 µg at evaluation. Darbepoetin alfa was well tolerated. Conclusions: Study subjects with CKD receiving QW rHuEPO were effectively converted to Q2W darbepoetin alfa, which was well tolerated. Hb levels were maintained over 52 weeks without a significant change in darbepoetin alfa dose.