A Study to Test the Non-Inferiority of Ferric Bepectate IV Against Ferric Carboxymaltose in Patients With Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron is essential for the normal functioning of a human body. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) occurs when blood lacks adequate healthy red blood cells, preventing adequate distribution of oxygen throughout the tissue of the body. IDA, if left uncorrected, may result in complications such as extreme fatigue, weakness, chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats or even heart failure in some cases, in addition to reducing the overall quality of life of a patient. Iron supplementation can effectively treat IDA. An iron-rich diet is known to enhance iron levels, however supplementation is limited by the bio-availability of iron compounds. Oral iron treatment is the most common form of therapy for iron supplementation. However, oral iron supplementation is not ideal for all patients, as adverse events are common, and some patients also fail to respond. Common adverse events (AEs) include significant gastrointestinal discomfort, metallic taste and staining of teeth, resulting in patience discontinuing the treatment. Intravenous (i.v) iron therapy is regarded as a safe method to correct anemia resulting from several conditions that avoids many of the gastrointestinal AEs common with oral iron supplementation. Ferric carboxymaltose is an established i.v iron formulation approved to treat IDA in Europe and USA. In patients with high iron need, ferric carboxymaltose requires at least two injections, at least 7 days apart. A new i.v. iron formulation has been developed, Ferric Bepectate IV Injection. Ferric Bepectate IV Injection has the potential to be dosed at higher volumes compared to other i.v. iron formulations, allowing for patients with high iron needs to only undergo a single infusion, reducing the medical burden on both the patient and the medical system, and providing a rapid improvement to IDA and associated symptoms. The current phase 3 study aims to compare Ferric Bepectate IV Injection with two Ferric carboxymaltose formulations (comparators: Ferinject® and Injectafer®) to determine non-inferiority between the Ferric Bepectate IV Injection single dose administration and the current approved dosing for the comparators. A comparison between treatments of the change of hemoglobin (Hb) from baseline after 6 weeks will be the primary outcome. Safety of each treatment will also be assessed to determine superiority, by examining the number of adverse events in the 2 hour period following the beginning of infusion. Key secondary safety endpoints will assess the difference in volume-corrected urine iron after i.v administration, and incidence of hypophosphatemia during the 6 week follow-up period. A two-dose administration of Ferric Bepectate IV Injection will also be assessed to compare efficacy, tolerance, and safety with the single-dose administration and the comparators.