A phase 1, single-dose study of fresolimumab, an anti-TGF-β antibody, in treatment-resistant primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a disease with poor prognosis and high unmet therapeutic need. Here, we evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetics of single-dose infusions of fresolimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inactivates all forms of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), in a phase I open-label, dose-ranging study. Patients with biopsy-confirmed, treatment-resistant, primary FSGS with a minimum estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 25 ml/min per 1.73m(2), and a urine protein to creatinine ratio over 1.8mg/mg were eligible. All 16 patients completed the study in which each received one of four single-dose levels of fresolimumab (up to 4mg/kg) and was followed for 112 days. Fresolimumab was well tolerated with pustular rash the only adverse event in two patients. One patient was diagnosed with a histologically confirmed primitive neuroectodermal tumor 2 years after fresolimumab treatment. Consistent with treatment-resistant FSGS, there was a slight decline in eGFR (median decline baseline to final of 5.85 ml/min per 1.73m(2)). Proteinuria fluctuated during the study with the median decline from baseline to final in urine protein to creatinine ratio of 1.2mg/mg with all three Black patients having a mean decline of 3.6mg/mg. The half-life of fresolimumab was similar to 14 days, and the mean dose-normalized Cmax and area under the curve were independent of dose. Thus, single-dose fresolimumab was well tolerated in patients with primary resistant FSGS. Additional evaluation in a larger dose-ranging study is necessary. Kidney International (2011) 79, 1236-1243; doi:10.1038/ki.2011.33; published online 2 March 2011