At the ASN conference, clinical pharmacologist Hiddo L. Heerspink of the University Medical Center Groningen presented remarkable findings from the SeMaglutide and Albuminuria Reduction Trial in Obese Individuals Without Diabetes (SMART) on the effects of semaglutide in patients with chronic kidney disease. Semaglutide is widely recognized under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy.

This initial, small-scale study demonstrated a significant reduction in kidney damage and inflammation. The study was conducted in four countries: Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Half of the 101 participants received 24-week injections of semaglutide, while the other half received a placebo. 

Patients receiving semaglutide experienced a more than 50% reduction in urinary protein levels—a key indicator of kidney damage—while protein levels remained nearly unchanged in the placebo group.

Additionally, kidney inflammation in the semaglutide group decreased by an average of 30%. Participants also saw a drop in blood pressure comparable to that achieved with specific antihypertensive drugs and lost approximately 10% of their body weight.

‘The great thing is that the drug has both direct and indirect effects on the kidneys. The drug has direct effects on inflammation parameters in the kidney, and lowers fat tissue around the kidneys, lowering the amount of protein in the urine. And indirectly because it reduces participants’ weight and blood pressure’, explains Heerspink.

The results were published in Nature Medicine.