The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is running a new, two-part education animated video series that lays down the facts of hyperkalemia with a little help from Big Pharma AstraZeneca.
The condition it wants to highlight is caused by a high level of potassium in the blood and can come as a result of kidney disease. Hyperkalemia may cause no symptoms early on, but very high levels over a long period can cause serious heart problems, while severe cases can prove fatal.
AstraZeneca, which markets hyperkalemia drug Lokelma, is “supporting” the animated series, the NKF said in a release, although the organization did not detail exactly how. There is also a new patient video series that details the journey interviewees have gone through to get their diagnosis.
Hyperkalemia doesn’t have much awareness from the public, but it’s a major medical problem: The NKF says about 26 million people worldwide have experienced heart failure and are living with high potassium levels in their blood.
To help boost understanding, the NKF has launched an easy-to-understand mini-series of animated educational videos.
The first breaks down the disorder and its links to kidney disease, while the second is focused on how it can be managed and treated.
The videos, which are available in both English and Spanish, are on the NKF’s website and YouTube. The first video keeps things simple with a gray-white stone wash background and a narrator explaining how the kidneys work and how hyperkalemia can occur with the help of several purple animated characters.
The second video, using the same animated character, talks more on what happens after diagnosis, including eating less food that contains potassium.
“Certain medicines prescribed by your health care team can also help,” the narrator intones, including water pills. The video series does not directly mention Lokelma or any other branded medicine. However, the name AstraZeneca is displayed in large font at the end of the video series.
“A simple blood test can determine the level of potassium in a person's blood,” said Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, CMO for the National Kidney Foundation, in a press release. “It’s important to encourage patients to see a doctor for their overall health benefit and to work on a proper treatment plan together.”
Lokelma, which battles CSL Vifor’s Veltassa in the hyperkalemia branded drug market, had a difficult birth. The drug came from AstraZeneca’s $2.7 billion buyout of ZS Pharma and was approved back in 2018, but a series of manufacturing problems delayed its entry into the market.
These are niche drugs that have struggled to make major sales. Lokelma made $289 million in 2022 while Veltassa saw sales of CHF 114.2 million ($122 million) in 2021, the last full-year sales were reported.