SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FibroGen, Inc., today announced proof-of-principle for oral anemia therapy FG-4592, a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (PHI), in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients receiving hemodialysis. In this first clinical study of a HIF-PHI to include a recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) control arm, FG-4592 was directly compared with rhEPO on numerous parameters in this controlled study. Six weeks of dosing with FG-4592 maintained correction of hemoglobin in the absence of intravenous (IV) iron supplementation and led to marked, dose-dependent decreases in hepcidin (an iron regulatory hormone) compared with levels achieved with rhEPO. An interim analysis of results from this ongoing phase 2 study were reported at the 2011 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 26–30 (Abstract #188).1
