Doctor leads kidney drug tests
A promising breakthrough in the treatment of kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes has a strong Spokane connection.
Dr. Katherine Tuttle, of The Heart Institute of Spokane and the Providence Medical Research Center, led a national study testing a new drug’s ability to slow the progression of kidney disease. The drug could become the first new treatment for diabetic kidney disease in more than a decade. It’s also believed to be the first time a Spokane researcher has headed a study of such significance.
It puts Spokane in the spotlight as a serious player in the life sciences, said Jon Eliassen, president and CEO of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council.
“Kathy’s work is more than a Ph.D. doing research at some location,” he said. “I think it’s part of a much larger trend.”
Eliassen said more researchers, businesses and students are recognizing Spokane as a prime place to test theories and innovations. He noted that Aegis Biosciences, a company that makes a gel to treat burns, moved a researcher to Spokane earlier this year to take advantage of the rich biotech environment.
“I think the opportunity we have here in Spokane to link the health care community with health technology and research is huge, especially with the schools we already have in place,” Eliassen said. Spokane’s good quality of life doesn’t hurt either, he said.
Tuttle led the study of 123 human subjects at 17 clinical sites across the country for Eli Lilly & Co.
For a year, half the subjects took a drug called ruboxistaurin mesylate, which has a proposed brand name of Arxxant, in conjunction with ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers—the standard treatment for diabetic kidney disease patients. The other half took the standard treatments but were given a placebo in place of ruboxistaurin.
There was a 24 percent reduction in the presence of albuminuria, an indicator of kidney damage, in the patients taking ruboxistaurin. Albuminuria is a condition in which the kidneys lose albumin, a protein, into the urine.
While the patients taking the placebo experienced a loss of kidney function over the year, kidney function in patients taking ruboxistaurin was stable. The drug doesn’t turn back the clock on kidney damage, but it appears to stop it in its tracks, Tuttle said.
Meanwhile, the side effects were minimal.
Tom Vasseur, of Coeur d’Alene, was a subject in the trial. It was the first time the 61-year-old attorney had been in a study, but he’s involved in his third now and said he’s hooked.
“I’m glad there are people around to do (the research),” he said. “It’s doing something to benefit everybody that has these illnesses or problems.”
Vasseur said he felt fortunate to be part of the group that received ruboxistaurin and was encouraged to see the drug’s results on his body.
Diabetes – a growing epidemic in America – injures the small blood vessels in the body, including those in the kidneys. Diabetes can lead to blindness, amputation, heart and kidney disease. It is the leading cause of kidney failure in the United States.
If Eli Lilly continues to pursue bringing ruboxistaurin to the market, the next step would be to conduct a phase III clinical trial with thousands of patients around the world. If that were to occur and if the trial had positive results, the drug could be available to treat diabetic kidney disease as early as 2008, Tuttle predicted.
And if Tuttle were to lead the next trial, Spokane would not just have a feather, but an entire bird, in its cap.
Tuttle presented the data at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting in San Diego last week. Since then, she has been interviewed by CNN, Forbes magazine, the New York Times and other newspapers and is expected to be a source in an upcoming documentary by PBS.
Although she’s modest about the attention, Tuttle is steadfast in her efforts to help people suffering what she called a “terrible” disease.
“To have something that looks like it might go further to reduce the burden of the disease is very exciting.”