Since early this year, Kerendia has been covered by reimbursement in clinical practices in South Korea.

Kerendia's indication may expand to hypertension as it becomes available for prescriptions at clinical practices.

According to the pharmaceutical industry on August 13th, Kerendia (finerenone) is now being used in clinical practices after obtaining reimbursement coverage in February for adult patients with chronic kidney disease who have type 2 diabetes.

Kerendia is the first non-steroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and a novel therapeutic approach targeting inflammation and fibrosis in adult chronic kidney disease patients with type 2 diabetes.

As a result, Kerendia has been prescribed this year in the departments of internal medicine and nephrology at medical centers in South Korea.

Sung Hee Choi, Professor of the Department of Internal Medicine at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, said "There is no drug like Kerendia that could directly suppress chronic suppression or kidney fibrosis. New treatment options that can directly target should be welcomed, and this could be an important part of changing the therapeutic strategy." Professor Choi explained, "I think we must consider the possibility that the drug could slow the progression of kidney disease when used early in diabetes patients and try to use it as early as possible."

However, Kerendia is not actively prescribed because it is still in the early stages of its launch in South Korea.

According to the medical market research firm UBIST, Kerendia generated approximately KRW 1 billion in prescription sales in the first half of this year. Considering that the government assigned KRW 9.95 billion for finance expenses in a year during the reimbursement process, it is still too early to determine if Kerendia is established in the market.

Based on UBIST, the prescription amount for Kerenia is on the rise monthly, which suggests that the drug is expanding in clinical practices.

Additionally, Bayer recently added Kerendia to treat patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The results met the primary endpoint of the Phase 3 FINEARTS-HF clinical trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of the drug compared to placebo.

In the Phase 3 FINEARTS-HF clinical trial, the composite endpoints of heart failure events (including initial and recurrent events), defined as cardiovascular death and hospitalizations or emergency visits due to cardiovascular deaths and heart failure, demonstrated statistically and clinically significant risk reduction.

As a result, Bayer is preparing to submit market authorization and expand the indication based on the clinical study.

If realized, this would expand prescriptions across all areas, including endocrinology, nephrology, and cardiology. At the same time, it is expected to enable Bayer to actively target the market alongside its existing heart failure treatment lineup, including Verquvo (vericiguat).

JinA Lee, CEO of Bayer Korea, explained, "Kerendia, which is now used for treating chronic kidney disease accompanying type 2 diabetes, has been shown to suppress additional chronic kidney disease progression and to show cardiovascular benefits when used in combination with standard therapy. It is expected to provide effective management and treatments for patients who need the new treatment option."

Lee said, "In addition to Kerendia's role in treating chronic kidney disease accompanied by type 2 diabetes in South Korea, we will strive to provide better treatment benefits for patients with hypertension who have limited treatment options."