New renal anemia drugs: is there really anything new on the horizon?

Anemia has remained one of the most characteristic and visible manifestations of chronic renal failure for over 150 years. The pathogenesis of anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is multifactorial with inadequate production of erythropoietin being the leading factor. The development of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin) in the late 1980s was a milestone in treatment of renal anemia. Despite new drugs, our 'good old friend' erythropoietin-stimulating agents are our everyday life in nephrology practice. It seems that peginesatide would not become a new approach for treating anemia of CKD patients, but rather a falling star. Several new strategies for treating the anemia of CKD are currently being investigated in clinical trials, including prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors and modulators of hepcidin activity, but their role in the management of this condition remains to be established. As shown by the expert in this review, we have to take into account not only the safety and convenience of administration but also cost-effectiveness, while biosimilars are consequently knocking at the doors of dialysis units more and more, particularly in Europe.