Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor–B Blockade with CSL346 in Diabetic Kidney Disease

What is it about?

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a serious complication of type 2 diabetes. As a result of DKD, the kidneys do not work properly. This means that high levels of the protein albumin enter the urine. Current treatments for DKD do not prevent the continued loss of kidney function. This slow decline may be due to high levels of fat in kidney cells. This may be caused by a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor-B (VEGF-B) which is involved in fat transport in cells. High levels of VEGF-B are found in the kidneys of people with DKD and may be a reason that their kidney cells become fatty. Blocking VEGF-B could therefore improve kidney function and reduce albumin levels in the urine of people with DKD. We did a study to find out whether CSL346, a drug that blocks VEGF-B, could reduce albumin levels in the urine of people with type 2 diabetes and DKD. Two different doses of CSL346 were studied and results were compared with placebo. We found that CSL346 did not reduce albumin levels in the urine of people in the study. In addition, some people receiving the higher dose of CSL346 had increased diastolic blood pressure; this finding was unexpected. Therefore, it is unlikely that CSL346 delays the progression of DKD.

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