Bluestar is once again heading to ASN Kidney Week, this time in Houston, TX. Since our last episode, Otsuka, the manufacturer of sibeprenlimab, announced that the FDA has granted Priority Review of their BLA application; its PDUFA date is November 28th of this year. Additionally, Vera Therapeutics, the manufacturer of atacicept put out a press release this past summer that the ORIGIN Phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint of reduction in proteinuria (UPCR); participants receiving atacicept achieved a 46% reduction from baseline, and 42% reduction compared to placebo at week 36 (pth, 2026.

After the 2023 conference, Dr. Pietro Canetta joined Bluestar Principal Jeff Fineberg on the Biotech Matters podcast to talk about all things IgAN, as well as the two FILSPARI trials and the data presented at the conference. So, it's only fitting that Dr. Canetta is back on the podcast to revisit that conversation, discuss what has happened in the two years since, and tell us what he's most looking forward to at this year's conference.

Where to find Dr. Canetta:

Where to learn more:

Columbia CME Courses

Glomerular Disease-Focused CME Course

Topics and Timestamps

00:00 - Intro + recap
04:00 - Reflection on Filspari in FSGS; implications for UPCR in FSGS and other diseases going forward
12:40 - DKD: better/newer surrogate endpoints; matching patients to the right Tx
19:30 - IgAN: the 4-hit model of disease and the role of B cells
22:45 - Where do B cell-targeting therapies fit in the evolving IgAN Tx Paradigm?
26:45 - The counter argument to using Bcells early in IgAN treatment
30:10 - Bcells beyond IgAN: Lupus Nephritis and other glomerular diseases
33:00 - Different B cell-targeting mechanisms for different glomerular diseases and/or heterogeneous patient populations
36:45 - A homecoming for complement inhibitor therapies
42:00 - Other recommended sessions at Kidney Week 2025
45:00 - Where to learn more from Dr. Canetta