Are We Nearing the End of the Debate Regarding Steroid Efficacy and Safety in IgAN?

Target Audience
The educational design of this activity addresses the needs of nephrologists, internists, PCPs, dialysis staff and medical directors, pharmacists, and aligned HCPs.

Statement of Need/Program Overview
If left untreated, immunoglobulin‐A nephropathy (IgAN) can lead to kidney failure, dialysis, and transplantation. The current standard of care, RAS inhibition, has limited efficacy, while recently updated KDIGO guidelines for the management of IgAN highlight the risks associated with systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. An enhanced understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of IgAN could lead to improved options in reducing the first step in the inflammatory process.

Join a panel of expert nephrologists to review the changing standards of care for IgAN and explore the mechanisms of action, safety, and efficacy of new therapeutic options. Panelists will discuss the key roles of Peyer’s patches in the inflammatory process in glomerular mesangium, which can be reduced with delayed‐release budesonide. The activity will also review new and emerging surrogate endpoints for kidney-disease clinical trials and help clinicians understand how to utilize trials to evaluate patient response to therapy.

Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

Identify the manifestations and diagnostic process for IgAN
Recognize patients who are at high risk of progression despite RAS inhibition
Explain the role of the ileal lymphoid tissue, specifically Peyer’s patches as a major source of IgA responsible for IgAN, and describe the implications for treatment with steroids
Summarize the safety and efficacy data of the delayed-release budesonide formulation in proteinuria reduction and kidney function