VIFOR-PHARMA-GROUP
19.11.2020 07:02:43 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Regulatory News:
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201118005914/en/
Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (VFMCRP) and Fresenius Kabi today announced an agreement to develop, register and distribute Veltassa® for the treatment of hyperkalemia in the People’s Republic of China. Under the agreement, Fresenius Kabi will have the exclusive right to distribute and sell Veltassa® across China.
Stefan Schulze, CEO of Vifor Pharma Group comments, “We are delighted to expand VFMCRP’s collaboration with Fresenius Kabi. There is a high prevalence of CKD and heart failure in China3 and hyperkalemia is one of the most common complications associated with these two conditions. As a result there is a high demand for an effective, proven hyperkalemia treatment. The excellent commercial infrastructure, the well established relationships in nephrology and our existing successful collaboration make Fresenius Kabi our partner of choice to provide Veltassa® to patients.”
Oskar Haszonits, President Region Asia Pacific of Fresenius Kabi said, “This agreement is an important step in intensifying our collaboration and relationship with VFMCRP in nephrology. We believe Veltassa® has the potential to provide many benefits to patients across the country, and we look forward to adding it to our portfolio and working with VFMCRP.”
Hyperkalemia is a serious medical condition characterized by elevated levels of potassium in the blood and can be associated with life-threatening consequences. Patients with CKD and heart failure, especially those treated with RAAS (renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system) inhibitors are at particular risk of developing hyperkalemia. As a consequence, RAASi therapy, the cornerstone of treatment for CKD and heart failure, is often reduced or discontinued, compromising cardio-renal protection. By bringing Veltassa® to China, VFMCRP and Fresenius Kabi will deliver a treatment that will enable patients to remain on RAASi therapy by managing their chronic hyperkalemia.
Fresenius Kabi is a global healthcare company that specializes in medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. In China, the company is among the top 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies, being a market leader in clinical nutrition, anesthesia and nephrology. Fresenius Kabi has around 6,000 employees in China.
Both parties have agreed to not disclose financial terms of the collaboration.
Vifor Pharma Group
is a global pharmaceuticals company. It aims to become the global leader in iron deficiency, nephrology and cardio-renal therapies. The company is a partner of choice for pharmaceuticals and innovative patient-focused solutions. Vifor Pharma Group strives to help patients around the world with severe and chronic diseases lead better, healthier lives. The company develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products for precision patient care. Vifor Pharma Group holds a leading position in all its core business activities and consists of the following companies: Vifor Pharma and Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (a joint company with Fresenius Medical Care). Vifor Pharma Group is headquartered in Switzerland, and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX Swiss Exchange, VIFN, ISIN: CH0364749348).
For more information, please visit viforpharma.com
Fresenius Kabi is a global healthcare company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. The company’s products and services are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients. Fresenius Kabi’s product portfolio comprises a comprehensive range of I.V. generic drugs, infusion therapies and clinical nutrition products as well as the devices for administering these products. In the field of biosimilars, Fresenius Kabi focuses on autoimmune diseases and oncology. In 2019, the first biosimilar product by Fresenius Kabi was launched. Within transfusion medicine and cell therapies, Fresenius Kabi offers products for collection of blood components and extracorporeal therapies.
With its corporate philosophy of "caring for life", the company is committed to putting essential medicines and technologies in the hands of people who help patients and finding the best answers to the challenges they face.
For more information, please visit www.fresenius-kabi.com
.
About Hyperkalemia
Approximately 73% of advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and 40% of chronic heart failure patients may be at risk of elevated blood potassium levels4
. Hyperkalemia can cause abnormal heart rhythms and even sudden death5
. There are often no warning signs, meaning a person can unknowingly experience spikes in potassium levels recurrently and be at risk for these cardiac events. Some medicines that are often prescribed to people with CKD and heart failure to help delay progression of their underlying disease and reduce mortality can cause hyperkalemia as a side effect. These may include RAASi such as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), aldosterone antagonists (AAs) and angiotensin converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors as well as angiotensin II receptor/neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI).
About Veltassa®
Veltassa®
is a potassium binder approved for the treatment of hyperkalemia. Veltassa® was specially designed to exchange calcium rather than sodium for potassium ions, ensuring suitability for patients who cannot tolerate even small increases in sodium.Veltassa® should not replace emergency treatment for life-threatening hyperkalemia. Made in powder form, Veltassa® is mixed with water and taken once a day with or without food. Veltassa® is consisting of smooth, spherical, uniform microbeads too large to be absorbed, thus protecting the gastrointestinal tract. Veltassa® works primarily in the lumen of the colon where potassium concentration is highest, and the residence time of the polymer is the longest. The potassium is then excreted from the body through the normal excretion process.
1
Veltassa®
EU SmPC 2019
2
Agarwal R, et al. Lancet 2019;394:1540–50.
3
Zhang et al. Lancet. 2012 Mar 3;379(9818):815-22; Guo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016; 13: E770. Guo et al. Curr Cardiol Rev. 2013 May; 9(2): 112–122.
4
Rosano GCM, et al. Expert consensus document on the management of hyperkalaemia in patients with cardiovascular disease treated with renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors: coordinated by the Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur Heart J 2018;4:180-188.
5
Rastegar A, Soleimani M. Hypokalaemia and hyperkalaemia. Postgrad Med J. 2001;77:759-764.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201118005914/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
NIQ Expands GeoPurchase Audiences Globally, Unlocking Growth Opportunities for Marketers in Poland, Belgium, Mexico, and Indonesia22.6.2026 12:00:00 CEST | Press release
International expansion helps advertisers target audiences based on local consumer demand NIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a leading consumer intelligence company, today announced the expansion of its GeoPurchase audiences into Poland, Belgium, Mexico, and Indonesia, extending its purchase-based, geo-targeted audiences to new international markets. As privacy regulations tighten and identifiers like cookies decline, marketers need new ways to reach high-value consumers at scale. NIQ’s GeoPurchase Audiences address this challenge by helping marketers identify and target consumers based on demand, not just demographics. GeoPurchase audiences help marketers pinpoint geographic areas where consumers are most likely to purchase specific FMCG categories, brands, or sub-brands, so media investments can concentrate where retail opportunities are strongest. By focusing investments in priority locations, marketers can connect with the audiences that matter in the markets with the greatest opportunity. As a resu
Smartly Introduces Smartly Synapse, the Intelligent AI Orchestration Layer Powering Its Advertising Platform22.6.2026 12:00:00 CEST | Press release
Smartly Synapse powers Smartly’s agentic orchestration, providing marketers a faster, more intelligent way to plan, execute, and optimize millions of signals for better results Smartly today introduced Smartly Synapse, the intelligent AI orchestration and memory layer behind every Smartly AI Agent. Built on years of cross-channel creative, media and performance intelligence and continuously shaped by real-world outcomes, Smartly Synapse transforms millions of signals into actions that help marketers plan smarter, execute faster and drive stronger business results. Smartly Synapse creates a continuous performance loop where marketer intent, business context, campaign activity and outcomes continuously inform one another. Its shared intelligence and memory layer helps the system learn from every campaign, improving future recommendations, execution and performance. “Smartly Synapse is the intelligent AI orchestration and memory layer behind our AI agents. It augments Smartly’s existing p
Europe’s Original First Check Investor Seedcamp Raises $320 Million22.6.2026 11:23:00 CEST | Press release
First backer of Revolut, Wise, UiPath, Synthesia and Fluidstack brings nearly two decades of experience and conviction to Europe’s next frontier Expands US team to support founders building global giants from day one Raise is split across a $220m Core fund and $100m Select fund to back winners through Series B and beyond Backing founders at the very beginning - before the company or the theme is obvious Seedcamp, Europe’s original first check investor and earliest backer of companies including Revolut, Wise, UiPath, Synthesia and Fluidstack, has raised $320 million to invest in the next generation of global companies. US expansion for born global founders and early growth capital for portfolio winners Since launching in 2007 with a $2.5m first fund, Seedcamp now manages over $1bn in AUM and has delivered some of the strongest venture fund returns in Europe. Seedcamp Fund III has now returned over 13x DPI to its Limited Partners, and Fund IV sits at over 5x net TVPI. The new capital is
Navan Invests in European Footprint with New Partnerships22.6.2026 10:01:00 CEST | Press release
New integrations with ITA Airways, Caledonian Sleeper, and Virtuo elevate localized inventory across Europe Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, today announced new integrations with European travel suppliers. Navan will add to its platform a direct New Distribution Capability (NDC) connection with Italy’s national air carrier, ITA Airways; overnight rail services in the UK with Caledonian Sleeper; and mobile-first car rental bookings in France with Virtuo. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260622904121/en/ New integrations with ITA Airways, Caledonian Sleeper, and Virtuo elevate localized inventory across Europe “We’re seeing incredible momentum across Europe, bookings to and from the continent are up year-over-year, and to truly serve the European market you have to continually invest locally,” said Michael Riegel, Chief Customer Officer at Navan. “By bringing ITA’s
Finalists Announced for the Second Edition of the Reply AI Music Contest, the International Competition Exploring the Relationship Between AI and Live Performance22.6.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
The jury will announce the winners on Saturday, 4 July, on the stage of Kappa FuturFestival in Turin Music and artificial intelligence come together at the Reply AI Music Contest to explore the relationship between AI and live performance. The competition, created by Reply and organized in collaboration with Kappa FuturFestival — one of Europe’s leading festivals dedicated to electronic music and cultural innovation — announces the five finalists selected by an international jury of professionals from music and creative industries: Agoria, Max Cooper, Fleur Shore, Tini Gessler, Ali Demirel, Albi Scotti, Oliver Bohl and Sarah Grimaldi. The finalists represent a new generation of innovators using AI to explore new forms of integration between sound, visual arts and live performance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260622111182/en/ Finalists announced for the second edition of the Reply AI Music Contest, the inte
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom