March 25, 2026

Hope for IgA nephropathy: new drug shows strong early results

A new drug called atacicept may offer an effective treatment option for people living with IgA nephropathy. In a recent clinical trial, the medication reduced protein in the urine—a key sign of kidney damage—by nearly half after 36 weeks of treatment.  

IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune disease in which abnormal immune proteins build up in the kidneys and cause damage. Over time, this can lead to kidney failure. In about half of patients, the disease progresses to kidney failure or death within 10 to 20 years of diagnosis. There are currently limited treatment options to slow this progression.  

Atacicept is a targeted therapy designed to reduce the immune activity that drives this disease. It is currently being studied in a phase 3 clinical trial called ORIGIN 3, funded by a U.S.-based biotechnology company.  

Early results from the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, include 106 patients who received weekly injections of atacicept, compared to 97 patients who received a placebo (a treatment with no active drug).  

The findings are promising. After just four weeks, patients taking atacicept showed significant reductions in the amount of abnormal immune proteins linked to IgA nephropathy. By 36 weeks, their levels of protein in the urine dropped by 46 per cent, compared to a 7 per cent reduction in the placebo group.  

Side effects among the group taking atacicept were generally mild to moderate, such as reactions at the injection site. Importantly, patients taking atacicept did not have a higher risk of infection—an issue seen with some current therapies used to treat IgA nephropathy that suppress the immune system more broadly. 

While these results are encouraging, the study is still ongoing. Researchers will continue to follow patients over the next two years to see whether atacicept can help preserve kidney function over time.