Completed

A Randomized, Controlled, Open-label, Multi-center, Parallel-group Study to Demonstrate the Efficacy and Safety of RO0503821 When Administered Intravenously for the Maintenance Treatment of Anemia in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Who Are on Dialysis.

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What is being tested

Epoetin alfa or beta

+ RO0503821 (1x/2 Weeks)
+ RO0503821 (1x/4 Weeks)
Drug
Who is being recruted

Anemia

+ Hematologic Diseases
Over 18 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Phase 3
Interventional
Study Start: February 2004
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorHoffmann-La Roche
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: February 1, 2004Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study will assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous Mircera, given as maintenance treatment for renal anemia in chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis who were previously receiving iv epoetin. The anticipated time on study treatment is 1-2 years and the target sample size is 100-500 individuals.

Official TitleA Randomized, Controlled, Open-label, Multi-center, Parallel-group Study to Demonstrate the Efficacy and Safety of RO0503821 When Administered Intravenously for the Maintenance Treatment of Anemia in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Who Are on Dialysis. 
Principal SponsorHoffmann-La Roche
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
673 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Treatment Study
These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation
: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.

None (Single-arm trial)
: If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants are divided into different groups, each receiving a specific treatment at the same time. This helps researchers compare how well different treatments work against each other.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment
: Everyone gets the same treatment.

Cross-over assignment
: Participants switch between treatments during the study.

Factorial assignment
: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.

Sequential assignment
: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.

Other assignment
: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled
: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind
: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.

Double-blind
: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.

Triple-blind
: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.

Quadruple-blind
: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 18 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Anemia
Hematologic Diseases
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * adult patients \>=18 years of age; * chronic renal anemia; * on dialysis therapy for at least 12 weeks before screening; * receiving IV epoetin for at least 8 weeks before screening. Exclusion Criteria: * women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or using unreliable birth control methods; * administration of another investigational drug within 4 weeks before screening, or during the study period.


Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
3 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Active Comparator
Participants received their ongoing weekly intravenous dose of Epoetin alfa or beta one, two or three times weekly for 52 weeks.

intravenously 3 times weekly for 52 weeks, as prescribed
Group II
Experimental
Participants received RO0503821 (Mircera \[methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta\]) once every two weeks intravenously for 52 weeks. Participants received a starting dose of RO0503821 (60, 100, or 180 microgram \[mcg\]) that was based on the Epoetin dose (\<8000, 8000-16000, \>16000 International units \[IU\]/Week) administered during the week preceding the switch to the study drug.

60, 100, or 180 microgram (mcg) (starting dose) once every two weeks intravenously for 52 weeks.
Group III
Experimental
Participants received RO0503821 once every four weeks intravenously for 52 weeks. Participants received a starting dose of RO0503821 (120, 200, or 360 mcg) that was based on the Epoetin dose (\<8000, 8000-16000, \>16000 IU/Week) administered during the week preceding the switch to the study drug.

120, 200 or 360 mcg (starting dose) once every four weeks intravenously for 52 weeks.
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

A time adjusted mean change in Hb concentration was calculated using an Area Under the Curve (AUC) approach, for both periods separately. Change in Hb concentration between the Baseline and evaluation periods was calculated by subtracting the calculated average baseline Hb from the average evaluation period Hb. At the end of the Week 36, data allowing the evaluation of the therapeutic response was available for 188 out of 221 eligible participants in RO0503821 (1x/2 Weeks) arm; 172 out of 220 eligible participants in RO0503821 (1x/4 Weeks); and 180 out of 225 participants in Epoetin (1-3x/Weeks) arm.
Secondary Objectives

The mean Hb of all values recorded during the evaluation period were calculated, and were subtracted from the mean baseline Hb for each participant. The number of participants maintaining their average Hb within +/- 1 g/dL of their average baseline hemoglobin concentration is given.

The number of participants who received RBC transfusions during the titration and evaluation periods were reported .

Marked laboratory abnormalities were defined as those values that were outside the Roche marked abnormality reference range. These abnormality laboratory values were flagged as Low or High if they were below the lower limit or above the upper limit of Roche marked abnormality reference range, respectively. The marked abnormality reference range for Platelet was 100-550x10\^9/Litre \[L\], for WBC was 3.0-18.0.0x10\^9/L, and for RBC was 3.80-6.10x10\^12/L.

Marked laboratory abnormalities were defined as those values that were outside the Roche marked abnormality reference range. These abnormality laboratory values were flagged as Low or High if they were below the lower limit or above the upper limit of Roche marked abnormality reference range, respectively. The marked abnormality reference range for aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was 0-80 (unit per litre \[U/L\]), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 0-110 U/L, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 0-220 U/L, albumin \>=30.0 gram/litre (g/L), glucose in non-diabetics 2.80-11.10 (millimol/litre \[mmol/L\]); potassium 2.90-5.80 mmol/L, and phosphorus 0.75-1.60 mmol/L

Blood pressure was measured by manual assessment or automated reading throughout the entire study for every participant. Blood pressure was taken in the sitting position after at least 5 minutes rest. An appropriate -sized cuff was used and both systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures were recorded before dialysis (BD) and after dialysis (AD).

Change in pulse rate (beats per minute \[bpm\]) from baseline values includes only those participants with both a baseline value and a value for specified time period.

An AE is defined as any unfavorable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medicinal product, whether or not considered related to the medicinal product. An SAE is defined as any untoward medical occurrence that, at any dose, results in death, is life threatening, requires hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, is a congenital anomaly/birth defect, or is a significant medical event in the investigator's judgment or requires intervention to prevent one or other of these outcomes. Overall deaths occurred in the study were reported.

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has no location dataSave this study to your profile to know when the location data is available. 

CompletedNo study centers
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