News

Special Announcement About Tolvaptan

A major announcement was made by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) meeting regarding the results of the Tolvaptan Efficacy and Safety in Management of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Outcomes (TEMPO) Trial.
This is the first time that a drug specifically targeted to alter ADPKD progression in humans has been shown to be of benefit. This is an exciting milestone for PKD patients and the Foundation. (It is important to know that though tolvaptan is already approved for treatment of other medical conditions, the doses of tolvaptan used in the TEMPO trial were significantly higher than used in previous studies of other diseases. In addition, ADPKD patients are a unique patient population. Because of this, until the data are reviewed in detail by Otsuka and the FDA, it could be dangerous to take tolvaptan for treatment of PKD.)
The concept of using vasopressin blockade as a way of slowing ADPKD progression was originally developed by Dr. Vincent Gattone, whose research has been in part supported by the PKD Foundation. The Foundation is proud to have been a part of this critical work, and our hope is that this is just the first step toward finding other treatments that will improve the quality of people's lives who suffer from PKD.
Click on the links below to read the full announcement and learn more about the study.

FROM THE PKD FOUNDATION!