Is veverimer nephroprotective?

Jürgen Floege, MD, is a professor of medicine, director of the Division of Nephrology and Clinical Immunology at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Germany, and Distinguished Fellow of the European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA).

What is your prediction on the role of the new H⁺ ion–binding drug veverimer in nephroprotection?

I have no idea. Essentially, we know that it’s important to correct metabolic acidosis. We can do this, simply with baking soda, but in terms of protecting kidney function, we have no data.

There was a recent very well-done study from Switzerland in kidney-transplant patients who were given sodium bicarbonate to balance metabolic acidosis and it did nothing to the course of glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

So I’m very uncertain [whether] we have a solid database [on] GFR-wise correcting of metabolic acidosis.