Disease × agent evidence record

Cyclosporine for Chronic Kidney Disease: evidence, trials and status

Cyclosporine has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Chronic Kidney Disease. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit.

8 registered trials 0 recruiting 16 publications Evidence tier A · Strong Score 74.0
Research Tracker › Pairs › Chronic Kidney Disease › Cyclosporine
Research map, not treatment advice. This page aggregates registry and literature records. It does not evaluate efficacy, dosing or safety for any individual. Discuss any treatment decision with a qualified clinician.

Summary

Cyclosporine has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Chronic Kidney Disease would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Chronic Kidney Disease. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Cyclosporine to Chronic Kidney Disease: 5 have completed; 3 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT00812123). The largest enrolment is 738 participants (NCT00256750). Registration activity spans 1999 to 2006. The literature layer holds 16 publications for this pair: 5 Cochrane reviews, 1 meta-analysis, 3 systematic reviews, 2 randomised controlled trial publications and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2013 to 2026. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.

The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Chronic Kidney Disease ranks 534 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: GFR decline averages 2-5 mL/min/year on standard care (ACE/ARB + blood pressure control); progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in ~20-30% at 10 years for moderate CKD; reversal essentially impossible once structural fibrosis established.

Open in Repurposing ExplorerChronic Kidney Disease hubChronic Kidney Disease biomarkers & interventions

Evidence table

Evidence tierA · Strong
Evidence score74.0 (trials 24.0, literature 30.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0)
Registered trials8 total: 0 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 5 completed, 3 other
Linked publications16 (5 Cochrane reviews, 5 clinical trial publications, 3 systematic reviews, 2 randomised controlled trial publications, 1 meta-analysis)
Agent typeDrug (Small molecule)
Development stage (any indication)Approved
Mechanism / classNot recorded
Data sourcesDGIdb
Linked via biomarker / targetAGTR1
How the evidence score is calculated
  • Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
  • Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
  • The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
  • Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
  • The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.

Registered clinical trials

NCT IDTitleStatusPhaseEnrolment
NCT00812123Calcineurin Free Immunosuppression in Renal Transplant Recipients
2001
completedPhase 4127
NCT00493194Fibrosis in Renal Allografts
2005
status unknownPhase 4100
NCT00256750Belatacept Evaluation of Nephroprotection and Efficacy as First-line Immunosuppression (BENEFIT)
2005
completedPhase 3738
NCT00005113A Study to Compare Treatment With Sirolimus Versus Standard Treatment in Patients Who Have Received a Kidney Transplant
1999
terminatedPhase 3102
NCT00698685Pentostatin and Alemtuzumab as a Preparative Regimen for Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation
2006
terminatedPhase 214
NCT00854139Combined Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and Renal Transplant for Multiple Myeloma (MM) With End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
2001
completedPhase 110
NCT00027820Total-Body Irradiation and Fludarabine Phosphate Followed by Donor Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Patients With Hematologic Malignancies or Kidney Cancer
2001
completedPHASE1, PHASE2106
NCT00365287Combination Chemotherapy and Total-Body Irradiation Before Donor Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant in Treating Patients With Advanced Hematologic Cancer, Metastatic Breast Cancer, or Kidney Cancer
2000
completedPHASE1, PHASE2148

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Published literature

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Mechanism and notes

No mechanism of action is recorded for this pair in the source databases.

OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target AGTR1. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cyclosporine approved for Chronic Kidney Disease?

Cyclosporine has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Chronic Kidney Disease would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Chronic Kidney Disease. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.

Is Cyclosporine in clinical trials for Chronic Kidney Disease?

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Cyclosporine to Chronic Kidney Disease: 5 have completed; 3 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT00812123). The largest enrolment is 738 participants (NCT00256750). Registration activity spans 1999 to 2006.

What does the evidence show for Cyclosporine in Chronic Kidney Disease?

Cyclosporine has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Chronic Kidney Disease. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target AGTR1. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.

Cite this page

Open Source Medicine Foundation. Cyclosporine for Chronic Kidney Disease: evidence, trials and status. OSMF Research Tracker. Updated 2026-07-05. https://research.opensourcemed.info/pairs/chronic-kidney-disease/cyclosporine.html

Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.

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This is a research map, not treatment advice. Evidence tiers and scores summarise what has been studied, not whether a treatment works or is safe for you.