Semaglutide for CKD – Does the FLOW trial impact the standard of care?

Authors:
John Swegle, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP 

Reviewers:
Joshua Neumiller, PharmD, CDCES
Katie Cardone, PharmD, BCACP

Citation:
Perkovic V, Tuttle KR, Rossing P et al. Effects of semaglutide on chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2024 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2403347

The Problem

Progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with cardiovascular events, microvascular complications, death, and the need for dialysis.¹ Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are one of the established treatments used to slow the progression of CKD and improve outcomes.  Could perhaps the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists provide similar, additive, or different benefits in patients with CKD?