Sparsentan for treating primary IgA nephropathy

Sparsentan is in development for the treatment of immunoglobin A nephropathy (IgAN). IgAN is a chronic kidney disease which mainly affects young adults. In IgAN a protein called immunoglobulin A (IgA) becomes trapped in the very fine filters of the kidney (glomeruli), causing damage and scarring to the whole kidney. The cause of IgAN is not known, but it is thought that it may be due to over-activity of the immune system. In the early stages, IgA often has no symptoms. The first sign that the patient may notice is blood in the urine. There are currently no approved non-immunosuppressive medicines indicated for IgAN. There is therefore an unmet need to develop new well-tolerated, effective treatment options for IgAN.