EXTON, Pa.—In China, earlier diagnosis of renal insufficiency is leading to a rapid increase in the number of patients being seen by nephrologists; however, there were numerous mentions about the disparity of care across regions, according to a new survey released by BioTrends Research Group.
The report was based on survey results from 150 nephrologists in clinical practice in China and qualitative interviews conducted with 10 thought leaders in nephrology.
The report examines the demographics of nephrology practice in China and focuses specifically on the management of renal anemia amongst dialysis and later stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
The majority of nephrologists surveyed suggested that economics were not an impediment to treatment with erythropoietin (EPO) products— only about one-third of those surveyed felt that renal anemia management was optimal in China.
Further, 86 percent of those surveyed agreed that the treatment of anemia should begin earlier in CKD than it does in current clinical practice, according to BioTrends. The current EPO market is dominated by short acting EPO agents manufactured by local companies, but more than 70 percent report that an EPO agent with a longer dose interval would be highly desirable in a new EPO product. In fact, 44 percent of the surveyed nephrologists reported that there is a high need for new EPO products and that this need is greater than the unmet need for other therapies such as agents for acute renal failure, hyperphosphatemia and lupus nephritis.
The use of intravenous iron products is also prevalent amongst hemodialysis patients, although the use of oral iron (alone or in combination with IV iron) is higher in China as compared to other markets, according to the survey results.
Similar to the U.S. and E.U. markets, surveyed nephrologists report prescribing a low dose, consistent maintenance course of iron in hemodialysis patients as opposed to high dose, infrequent repletion therapy. Iron sucrose (brand name: Venofer) was noted as the market share leader in both the dialysis and CKD (non-dialysis) settings and the respondents reported very high satisfaction with this agent compared to other brands. The perceived need for new IV iron products was rated significantly lower than the need for new EPO agents.
