Drug updated on 4/17/2024
| Dosage Form | Injection (intravenous/subcutaneous: 25 mcg, 40 mcg, 60 mcg, 100 mcg, 200 mcg and 300 mcg), Injection (intravenous/subcutaneous: 10 mcg/0.4 mL, 25 mcg/0.42 mL, 40 mcg/0.4 mL, 60 mcg/0.3 mL, 100 mcg/0.5 mL, 150 mcg/0.3 mL, 200 mcg/0.4 mL, 300 mcg/0.6 mL, and 500 mcg/1 mL) |
| Drug Class | Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents |
| Ongoing and Completed Studies | ClinicalTrials.gov |
Indication
- Indicated for the treatment of anemia due to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in patients on dialysis and patients not on dialysis .
- Indicated for the treatment of anemia due to the effects of concomitant myelosuppressive chemotherapy, and upon initiation, there is a minimum of two additional months of planned chemotherapy.
Summary
- Darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) is used for the treatment of anemia due to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in patients on dialysis and not on dialysis, as well as for treating anemia resulting from concomitant myelosuppressive chemotherapy.
- Two systematic reviews/meta-analyses were reviewed that provided information about the efficacy and safety of darbepoetin alfa compared to other erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs).
- The first review found moderate to low confidence evidence suggesting that darbepoetin alfa prevents blood transfusions when compared with placebo in adults with CKD.
- However, this study also indicated a potential increase in hypertension risk associated with all proprietary ESAs including darbepoetin alfa; although there was considerable imprecision in these estimates leading to low confidence.
- The second review focused on comparing vadadustat against darbepoetin alfa among both non-dialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD) and dialysis-dependent CKD (DD-CKD) patients suffering from anemia.
- This analysis suggested similar effectiveness between vadadustat and darbepoeitin alpha at raising hemoglobin levels among NDD-CKK patients over short term durations, while no significant difference was observed regarding incidence of red blood cell transfusions or serious adverse events between the two drugs across all patient types studied.
Product Monograph / Prescribing Information
| Document Title | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) Prescribing Information. | 2019 | Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, California |
Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses
| Document Title | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents for anaemia in adults with chronic kidney disease: a network meta‐analysis. | 2023 | Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |
| Efficacy and safety of vadadustat compared to darbepoetin alfa on anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis. | 2022 | International Urology and Nephrology |
Clinical Practice Guidelines
| Document Title | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Management of cancer-associated anemia with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: ASCO/ASH clinical practice guideline update. | 2019 | Blood Advances |
| Management of cancer-associated anemia with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: ASCO/ASH clinical practice guideline update. | 2019 | Journal of Clinical Oncology |