Dialysis company DaVita Inc. has issued a statement in response to the recent news from Novo Nordisk regarding its Ozempic treatment for type 2 diabetes. According to the trial results, the treatment has shown potential in delaying the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reducing the risk of kidney and cardiovascular mortality.
The Danish company made headlines when it halted the trial due to the treatment’s efficacy. As a result, the stocks of dialysis companies, including DaVita, experienced a decline.
DaVita’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jeff Giullian, expressed excitement about the potential benefits that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic could bring to society and kidney disease patients. However, he also cautioned that drawing conclusions from the study would be premature, as the results have yet to be released.
Dr. Giullian highlighted that the study had specific inclusion criteria, which may limit its application to the broader CKD patient population. Patients enrolled in the trial needed to meet several uncommon criteria, including having type 2 diabetes, CKD, and a certain level of proteinuria (protein in the urine).
Moreover, the trial had a composite endpoint consisting of five separate endpoints. It remains unclear which of these endpoints showed a positive outcome, leading to the premature closure of the study. Dr. Giullian emphasized that further trials would be necessary to confirm the findings of this study.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, DaVita’s stock saw a 1.8% increase in premarket trading. However, it is still down 15% for the week to date.
Overall, DaVita remains optimistic about the potential of GLP-1 drugs and eagerly awaits the release of the full study results to gain further insights into the impact of Ozempic on CKD patients.