Finerenone: A Novel Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist for Cardiorenal Protection in CKD and T2DM

Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Ahead of Print.
Objective:To describe the pharmacology, clinical and safety evidence, and relevance to clinical practice of finerenone.Data Sources:A literature search was conducted utilizing PubMed, MEDLINE, and clinicaltrials.gov with search terms of “finerenone” and “BAY94-8862.”Study Selection and Data ExtractionAll available studies with human participants in English were considered. Studies were included if they investigated drug pharmacology, efficacy, and safety information.Data SynthesisIn addition to standard of care with a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor (RASi), finerenone lowered the risk of kidney disease progression (17.8% vs 21.1%) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease compared to placebo. Similarly, finerenone reduced cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease compared to placebo (12.4% vs 14.2%).Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical PracticeIt is anticipated that finerenone will be added to therapy after a RASi and a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, as tolerated, based on adverse events and potassium levels.ConclusionsFinerenone offers a unique approach to further delay the progression of chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It also provides another option for patients who cannot tolerate RASi or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors.