Sparsentan as First-Line Treatment of Incident Patients With IgA Nephropathy: An Interim Analysis of the SPARTAN Trial Evaluating Efficacy and Cardiovascular Risk Variables
Topics: Nephrology IgAN Sparsentan SPARTAN Clinical Poster Presentation Summary
Cheung CK, Dhaun N, Graham-Brown M et al.
About the research
Summary
Background
- Patients with elevated proteinuria and/or progressive kidney disease, including IgA nephropathy, have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)1,2
- Sparsentan showed reductions in urinary inflammatory biomarkers in an analysis of the Phase 2 SPARTAN trial, which may additionally provide cardiovascular benefit1,3,4
Aim
To examine efficacy, safety, and cardiovascular risk variables over the first 24 weeks of treatment with sparsentan in the SPARTAN trial1
Approach
- SPARTAN is a Phase 2, open-label, single-arm trial conducted at 5 sites in the United Kingdom, investigating the safety, efficacy, and mechanistic actions of sparsentan as a first-line therapy in adult patients newly diagnosed with IgA nephropathy (N=12)1
- Proteinuria change was assessed using the urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR)1
- Baseline cardiovascular variables include1:
- Blood pressure (BP); systolic and diastolic (mean, standard deviation [SD], mm Hg)
- Total body water (mean, SD, liters [L])
- Weight (mean, SD, kg)
- N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (mean, SD, ng/L)
- Lipids (mean, SD, mmol/L)
- Total cholesterol
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
- Non-HDL cholesterol
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol
- Triglycerides
- Left ventricular mass and ejection fraction on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Blood glucose (mean, SD, mmol/L)
Key findings
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were described in a previous presentation of the interim analysis of the SPARTAN trial5
Treatment with sparsentan in patients with IgA nephropathy led to rapid and sustained reductions in proteinuria, with 58% of patients (7/12) achieving complete remission (<0.3 g/day UPCR) at any time during the 24-week treatment period1
Read here for additional efficacy data from the interim analysis of the SPARTAN trial5
Compared to baseline, cardiovascular risk factors remained stable or improved with sparsentan over 24 weeks1
- Systolic and diastolic BP showed an initial slight decrease and remained stable over 24 weeks1,6
- Office and 24-hour ambulatory BP showed similar reductions from baseline to Week 6 in both systolic and diastolic BP1
- Over 24 weeks, no meaningful changes in body weight were observed, while mean total body water decreased modestly (-2.4 L [7.4])1
- NT-proBNP remained stable over 24 weeks of treatment1
- LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol showed a trend to lower risk profiles over 24 weeks1
- Reduction in left ventricular mass and minimal change in left ventricular ejection fraction were observed at week 241
Sparsentan was generally well tolerated over 24 weeks of treatment, with one patient discontinuing treatment due to hypotension1,6
- Adverse events (AEs) occurred 12 patients6
- One patient had a serious AE (limb abscess)6
- The most common AEs (>2 patients) included dizziness (n=6), urinary tract infection (n=3), dyspepsia (n=3), and vomiting (n=3)6
Conclusions
- Interim findings from the Phase 2 SPARTAN trial show that sparsentan, as a first-line treatment in patients (N=12) with IgA nephropathy, led to rapid and sustained reductions in proteinuria (~70% from baseline)1
- Cardiovascular risk factors remained stable or improved with sparsentan over 24 weeks. Some reduction in BP, total body water, lipids, and left ventricular mass was observed1
- No clinically meaningful changes were reported for blood glucose, NT-proBNP, mean body weight, and left ventricular ejection fraction1
- Sparsentan was well tolerated over 24 weeks of treatment, with no new safety signals1
Related Content
Footnotes
AE, adverse event; BP, blood pressure; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DEARA, dual endothelin angiotensin receptor antagonist; HDL, high density lipoprotein; IgA, immunoglobulin A; LDL, low density lipoprotein; mm HG, mm mercury; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; SD, standard deviation; UPCR, urine protein-to-creatinine ratio.
- Barratt J et al. Poster presented at: 18th International Symposium on IgA Nephropathy IIgANN, September 17-20, 2025; Prague, Czech Republic.
- Jarrick S et al. BMC Nephrol. 2021;22:165.
- Cheung CK et al. Presented at: International Podocyte Conference and ISGD Meeting; June 10-13, 2025; Hamburg, Germany. Poster FR_11.
- Kelly DM, et al. Stroke. 2025;56:1069-1081.
- Cheung CK et al. Presented at: American Society of Nephrology, 2024; October 23-27, 2024; San Diego, USA. FR-OR63.
- Barratt J et al. Presented at: 68th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Nephrology, June 20-22, 2025; Yokohama, Japan. O-358.
MA-SP-25-0158 | October 2025