Important new treatment option': Finerenone can slow kidney decline in patients without diabetes

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests finerenone can slow kidney decline in adults with chronic kidney disease who do not have diabetes. The trial enrolled 1,584 CKD patients without diabetes who continued standard therapy with ACE inhibitors or ARBs and were randomized to finerenone or placebo, with follow-up averaging just over three years. Over 2.5 years, the finerenone group showed slower kidney function decline and fewer major kidney complications (13.9% vs 16.9%, about a 23% risk reduction). Urinary protein also fell by more than 41% with finerenone versus ~9% with placebo at six months. These results are particularly relevant given that more than half of global CKD patients are non-diabetic. Led by Hiddo Lambers Heerspink at University Medical Center Groningen, the study supports adding finerenone to existing kidney care.