People whose kidneys cannot cope with too much salt intake may have an alternative to the salt-free diet, which is sometimes difficult to follow. A new molecule, tenapanor, developed by the American biotechnology company Ardelyx, would make the elimination of salt possible by limiting the kidney work. His technique: block the transporter that allows salt to pass from the intestine to the bloodstream. It is therefore eliminated through the digestive tract.
Tested in rats with kidney failure, the molecule significantly improved symptoms of the disease. In humans who participated in the phase 1 trial, it reduced the elimination of salt through urine, and therefore limited kidney work, by 50%. Tenapanor, which was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, could therefore help patients to eliminate part of the salt they accumulate without tiring the kidneys or going through a drastic diet that is difficult to bear.
A phase 2 study is currently being carried out by the company Ardelyx in order to certify the safety of the molecule in renal failure. The director of research and co-founder of the company, Dominique Charmot, is particularly confident about the possible side effects associated with tenapanor.
