Effect of finerenone on ambulatory blood pressure in chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes

Objective: Finerenone is a selective nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist with a short half-life. Its effects on cardiorenal outcomes were thought to be mediated primarily via nonhemodynamic pathways, but office blood pressure (BP) measurements were insufficient to fully assess hemodynamic effects. This analysis assessed the effects of finerenone on 24-h ambulatory BP in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. Methods: ARTS-DN (NCT01874431) was a phase 2b trial that randomized 823 patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, with urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g and estimated glomerular filtration rate of 30–90 ml/min per 1.73 m2 to placebo or finerenone (1.25–20 mg once daily in the morning) administered over 90 days. Ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) over 24 h was performed in a subset of 240 patients at screening, Day 60, and Day 90. Results: Placebo-adjusted change in 24-h ABPM systolic BP (SBP) at Day 90 was –8.3 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI], –16.6 to 0.1) for finerenone 10 mg (n = 27), –11.2 mmHg (95% CI, –18.8 to –3.6) for finerenone 15 mg (n = 34), and –9.9 mmHg (95% CI, –17.7 to –2.0) for finerenone 20 mg (n = 31). Mean daytime and night-time SBP recordings were similarly reduced and finerenone did not increase the incidence of SBP dipping. Finerenone produced a persistent reduction in SBP over the entire 24-h interval. Conclusions: Finerenone reduced 24-h, daytime, and night-time SBP. Despite a short half-life, changes in BP were persistent over 24 h with once-daily dosing in the morning.