A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial of Etelcalcetide in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis With Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (the DUET Trial)

Introduction: The clinical trial on the Development of a treatment strategy for chronic kidney disease‒mineral and bone disorder by a mUltilateral mechanism of ETelcalcetide hydrochloride, or the DUET trial, was designed to determine the efficacy of etelcalcetide, an intravenous calcimimetic, for control of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT).

Methods: Eligible SHPT maintenance hemodialysis patients (n = 124) were randomized (1:1:1) for inclusion in the DUET trial, a 12-week, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group study (jRCTs041180108), and assigned to either an etelcalcetide + active vitamin D group (group E+D), an etelcalcetide + oral calcium preparation group (group E+Ca), or a control group (group C). The primary endpoint was number of patients with a 50% reduction from baseline of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels, and iPTH levels ≤ 240 pg/mL at 12 weeks after start of the trial.

Results: The proportion of patients reaching the primary endpoint (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 90.0% (76.3%-97.2%) in group E+D, 56.8% (39.5%-72.9%) in group E+Ca, and 19.5% (8.8%-34.9%) in group C. Etelcalcetide treatment led to a significant increase in the number of patients achieving the endpoint (odds ratio, 13.4; 95% CI, 5.10-35.3) on logistic regression analysis, with iPTH, corrected serum calcium, and phosphate at baseline as covariates. Significantly more patients achieved the endpoint in group E+D compared with group E+Ca (odds ratio, 6.35; 95% CI, 1.79-22.48). There were fewer hypocalcemic visits in group E+D compared with group E+Ca (P = 0.018), yet the former group was prone to hyperphosphatemia.

Conclusion: Etelcalcetide showed good control of iPTH for maintenance hemodialysis patients with SHPT. Active vitamin D was useful in correcting hypocalcemia, but the oral calcium preparation was superior for suppression of hyperphosphatemia.