Insights from the SPARTAN Study with Drs. Jonathan Barratt and Shikha Wadhwani
Dr. Jonathan Barratt, PhD, FRCP is the Professor of Renal Medicine at the University of Leicester, where he leads the IgA Nephropathy Research Group. He is internationally recognized for his leadership in translational and clinical research in glomerular diseases, particularly IgA nephropathy. Dr. Barratt directs UK’s Rare Disease Group for the UK National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR).
Dr. Shikha Wadhwani, MD, MS, FASN is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). She is also the inaugural Associate Research Officer for clinical research, overseeing clinical trials across all 5 schools at UTMB. She is the founding member of the International Society of Glomerular Disease (ISGD) and is steering a global effort aimed at supporting the growth and success of physician-trialists. In her spare time, Dr. Wadhwani co-hosts a podcast called Kidney Compass: Navigating Clinical Trials.
In this episode, Drs. Jonathan Barratt and Shikha Wadhwani discuss findings from the SPARTAN Study, a Phase 2, open-label, single-arm trial evaluating sparsentan in 12 treatment-naïve patients with IgA nephropathy. The conversation explores the trial design, including assessments of proteinuria reduction and urinary biomarkers to better understand the sparsentan mechanism of action.
Results from SPARTAN demonstrated a 69% median reduction in proteinuria at 24 weeks, alongside biomarker trends consistent with decreased glomerular inflammation.
Dr. Barratt notes that no new safety signals emerged, with hypotension observed at a rate consistent with prior studies and no adverse hepatic events reported.
Together, the experts reflect on how these data support the biological plausibility of the anti-inflammatory properties of sparsentan and how they may inform the development of biomarker-guided strategies in IgA nephropathy, including ongoing evaluation of sparsentan in the PROTECT trial.
Episode Summary
“What we have is treatment with sparsentan from time of diagnosis, and that’s really powerful because it allows us to look at what sparsentan delivers in terms of kidney function protection in naïve patients, but also what it delivers in terms of biomarker changes.” 02:18
“It gives us a possibility of interrelating the things we use in clinical practice with novel biomarkers that we can then validate in the PROTECT trial and potentially use in future clinical practice. That is the aspiration for the study.” 15:54
“The more we understand about what we can do to halt disease progression in IgAN, hopefully the better we can do for our patients. These types of mechanistic studies will move us towards new biomarkers so we can follow patients better, intervene at a more appropriate time, and hopefully change the trajectory of the disease.” 22:48
- SPARTAN demonstrated a robust mean reduction in proteinuria (~69%) in treatment-naïve patients with IgA nephropathy after 24 weeks of sparsentan therapy
- Biomarker analysis revealed reductions in markers of macrophage activation, complement activity, and inflammatory cytokines, supporting the hypothesis of a potential anti-inflammatory effect
- No new safety signals were observed; hypotension rates were consistent with earlier trials, and no clinically significant changes in hepatic function were reported
- These findings contribute to our mechanistic understanding of sparsentan and provide a framework for future investigation of biomarkers from samples from larger studies such as PROTECT
Disclaimer: Guest speakers of the Rare Kidney Disease Show may be paid consultants of Travere Therapeutics. This podcast episode was recorded on July 25, 2025. Please always consult updated sources for the latest information, as information discussed may have changed since the recording date.
MA-SP-25-0119
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