Lilly/Boehringer’s Jardiance Might Be More Effective Than Az’s Farxiga in Treating Chronic Kidney Disease

New Spherix study reveals Jardiance (Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim) could challenge Farxiga (AstraZeneca) Lead in chronic kidney disease patients.

Life science launch analyst Spherix reached that conclusion after analyzing the results of two surveys—one of 104 U.S. nephrologists and another of 330 nephrologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists and primary care doctors.

Trial Results Have Made an Impression Among Healthcare Specialists

Although Farxiga is at present the SGLT2 inhibitor of choice among nephrologists, Spherix found Jardiance’s early trial results have made an impression among healthcare professionals. 

Nearly 70% of the kidney specialists surveyed in April expect to write more prescriptions for the drug in the next six months in response to the news, with 14% of those expecting a “significant” increase.

As the chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) treatment landscapes rapidly evolve, nephrologists are providing important insights to explain their increasing use of SGLT2 inhibitors, their consideration of new treatment options, and what the future holds in these dynamic markets.

Results from two recently released reports included in Spherix’s RealTime Dynamix™: CKD and DKD (US) and Market Dynamix™: Cross-Specialty Management of CKD and DKD (US) services provide timely and expanded HCP insights into these rapidly evolving markets.

Current events (especially related to SGLT2 inhibitors in CKD and DKD) are top of mind for nephrologists, including the early halt of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial for Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance due to overwhelming efficacy in CKD patients.

Nearly Seven-In-Ten Nephrologists Want to Prescribe More Jardiance

Indeed, findings from the Q2 2022 RealTime Dynamix™ study show that nearly seven-in-ten nephrologists expect to increase their prescribing of Jardiance in the next six months as a result of the trial stop.

As it was the first with an approval, nephrologists show strong preference for AstraZeneca’s Farxiga in their non-diabetic patients, and self-reported SGLT2 inhibitor share indicates Farxiga currently owns the non-diabetic CKD market. However, the margin between Farxiga and Jardiance share in DKD is much narrower, despite the fact that Jardiance does not yet have the indication. Jardiance’s potential gain in the non-diabetic CKD patient population could certainly shift nephrologists’ preferences and prescribing behaviors to challenge Farxiga’s lead and close the gap in that patient segment.

New insights about the perceptions of SGLT2 inhibitors and Bayer’s Kerendia from the 2022 report included in Spherix’s Market Dynamix™ service show a clear preference for Jardiance among cardiologists, endocrinologists, and primary care physicians. These physicians also identify Jardiance as having the best market access and formulary coverage of all the SGLT2 inhibitors, which plays favorably toward its share of the market.

Additionally, physicians are integrating newer, different classes of medicines into CKD and DKD patient care. For example, Kerendia is gaining more traction among nephrologists in terms of their familiarity with the drug and their comfort prescribing it for the treatment of DKD. Meanwhile, at least four-in-ten endocrinologists, cardiologists, and primary care physicians intend to increase their prescribing of the agent in the next three months.

Both Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim Aim to Further Research and Expand

Spherix will continue tracking these evolving markets through its quarterly and biannual reports and will capture CKD non-dialysis patient-level data specific to SGLT2 inhibitor and Kerendia use through two large-scale retrospective chart audits in its RealWorld Dynamix™ series, including perspectives from primary care physicians (report releasing mid-summer) and nephrologists (report releasing later this year).

These findings are very important to both Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, while they strive to further research and expand. 

Eli Lilly and Company plans to invest over $1 billion to create a new manufacturing site, along with nearly 600 new jobs in Concord, North Carolina. Lilly chose to expand operations in Concord because of the manufacturing technology experience of the local labor force; its proximity to universities with strong science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs; and its access to major transportation infrastructure.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Google Quantum AI (Google) announced back in January that they had entered into a collaborative agreement. This partnership will see both organizations work together to research and implement cutting-edge use cases for quantum computing in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D). Specifically, the two organizations will lead the charge when it comes to the research and development of molecular dynamic simulations.

RealWorld Dynamix™ is an independent, data-driven service unveiling real patient management patterns through rigorous analysis of large-scale patient chart audits. Insights reveal the “why” behind treatment decisions, include year over year trending to quantify key aspects of market evolution, and integrate specialists’ attitudinal & demographic data to highlight differences between stated and actual treatment patterns.

About Spherix Global Insights

Spherix Global Insights is a hyper-focused market intelligence firm that leverages our own independent data and expertise to provide strategic guidance, so biopharma stakeholders make decisions with confidence. They specialize in select immunology, nephrology, and neurology markets.