ERA: Finerenone Leads to Slower Decrease in eGFR in Adults With CKD

TUESDAY, June 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Finerenone leads to a slower decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) than placebo among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) without diabetes, according to a study published online June 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual congress of the European Renal Association, held from June 3 to 6 in Glasgow.

Hiddo J.L. Heerspink, Ph.D., from the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues randomly assigned 1,584 adults without diabetes who had CKD and albuminuria who were using a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor to receive finerenone (10 or 20 mg daily) or placebo (793 and 791 participants, respectively).

The researchers found that the mean annual rate of change in the eGFR from baseline to month 32 was −3.3 and −4.0 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively, with finerenone and placebo (difference, 0.7). The risk for a composite kidney or cardiovascular outcome event was significantly lower with finerenone versus placebo in prespecified hierarchical testing (hazard ratio, 0.77). Hyperkalemia was the most common adverse event (17.0 and 13.3 percent with finerenone and placebo, respectively); hyperkalemia events led to discontinuation of the trial regimen in 1.5 and 0.1 percent of patients receiving finerenone and placebo, respectively, and to hospitalization in 0.9 and 0.6 percent.

“The results show that finerenone significantly preserved kidney function and reduced the risk of cardiovascular-kidney outcomes with a consistent effect across prespecified subgroups, supporting a broad applicability in these patients,” Heerspink said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, which manufactures finerenone and funded the study.

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