Shire launches Fosrenol in United Kingdom

BASINGSTOKE, England, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Shire said Thursday it launched Fosrenol in the United Kingdom for the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease.

The drug is approved in the United Kingdom for controlling hyperphosphatemia in patients on hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

"Shire is delighted to launch Fosrenol in the UK where effective control of serum phosphate levels is seen as complex and challenging for patients with CKD, many of whom have to take numerous tablets with each meal to control their phosphate," said John Freeman, Shire's managing director.

"Fosrenol provides a new treatment option for patients helping them simplify their management of hyperphosphatemia," Freeman added.

Shire estimates that approximately 70 percent of the 23,000 patients in the United Kingdom with end-stage renal disease suffer from hyperphosphatemia. Most of these could keep their phosphate levels under control with one Fosrenol tablet at each meal, the company said.