Shire launches non-calcium hyperphosphataemia treatment
 Lanthanum carbonate, a non-calcium binding agent for controlling hyperphosphataemia, has been launched by Shire.
Marketed as Fosrenol, lanthanum carbonate is indicated for use as a phosphate-binding
agent to control hyperphosphataemia in patients with chronic renal disease
on haemodialysis or continuous peritoneal dialysis.
Use of such non-calcium binding agents may help to reduce cardiovascular
mortality in renal patients, John Sexton, principal pharmacist for nephrology
and transplant at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, told The
Journal,
although high costs may limit their use as first-line agents, he warned.
“Calcium salts, such as calcium carbonate and acetate, became the preferred
first-line phosphate binders in the UK because they are effective and cheap,” he
said.
“However, valvular and vascular calcification is a contributing factor
to the
high cardiovascular mortality of renal patients, and high doses of calcium-based
binders over prolonged periods may be part of the cause of this. The emergence
of non-calcium binders such as sevelamer and lanthanum offers a means of treating
renal hyperphosphataemia while avoiding calcium administration or using a lower
dose than otherwise. Because of the much higher cost of these products, however,
many centres will feel that they cannot be used as first-line binders in all
patients, and local guidelines are usually put into place.”
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader