INNOVATIVE THERAPEUTICS FOR RENOPROTECTION: WHERE WE ARE

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become highly prevalent worldwide, with major implications for public health, including increased risk of progression to kidney failure, cardiovascular events, and mortality. Up to a decade ago, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, that is angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers, were the only available pharmacological interventions to slow kidney function loss and limit the associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this context. More recently, landmark trials have demonstrated the ability of novel therapeutics to significantly ameliorate kidney and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CKD, when added on top of optimized renin-angiotensin system blockade. These include sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors in patients with diabetic and nondiabetic kidney disease, as well as the nonsteroidal mineralcorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist semaglutide in patients with diabetic kidney disease. We herein review the evolving scenario and the latest evidence for the treatment of CKD, mainly focusing on proteinuric CKD. We started with a presentation of established and more recently approved classes of kidney protective drugs, followed by a discussion of therapeutic interventions under clinical investigation to slow CKD progression. Finally, we underscore the added value of personalized and multidrug interventions, which are becoming increasingly more feasible with the availability of a growing number of kidney protective agents, and are likely to stand as the most powerful tools to safely slow, or even prevent, the progression of proteinuric CKD. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent globally, and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the currently approved and emerging therapeutic options for the treatment of proteinuric CKD. As novel kidney protective agents have recently become available, the outcomes of patients with CKD could hopefully improve over the few decades ahead.