Bayer’s FINE-REAL Korea Study Tracks Real-World Use of Finerenone in Diabetic Kidney Disease

Bayer AG (BAYRY) announced an update on their ongoing clinical study.

FINE-REAL Korea: Bayer Tracks Real-World Use of Finerenone in Diabetic Kidney Disease

The FINE-REAL Korea study, formally titled “FINE-REAL Korea: A Non-interventional Study Providing Insights Into the Use of Finerenone in a Routine Clinical Setting in Korea,” aims to understand how Bayer’s kidney drug finerenone is used in everyday practice for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study focuses on patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and safety in a Korean setting, helping clarify how the medicine performs outside controlled trials and supporting long-term positioning of the drug in this key market.

The study observes patients who are prescribed finerenone (brand name Kerendia, BAY94-8862), a kidney and heart protective drug already approved for CKD and T2D. Finerenone is a prescription tablet that blocks mineralocorticoid receptors, a pathway linked to kidney and heart damage. In this study, doctors decide on their own when to start, dose, or stop finerenone, and the research team then tracks how the drug is used, what other medicines are given with it, and which side effects show up, including cases of high blood potassium.

FINE-REAL Korea is an observational, non-interventional study. There is no random assignment, no placebo, and no blinding. Researchers simply follow one group of CKD and T2D patients who start finerenone during routine care and collect data over time. The primary goal is practical: to build a real-world picture of how the drug is used and how safe it is in Korean patients, complementing data from the broader global FINE-REAL program.

The study is listed as recruiting, meaning patient enrollment is still underway. The trial record was first submitted on 14 November 2025, marking the start of the formal regulatory process and signaling early operational progress. No results have been filed yet, and the latest update was submitted on 8 January 2026, confirming that the protocol and status have been recently reviewed. Primary and final completion dates have not yet been detailed, which is typical for an ongoing, real-world study at this stage.

For investors, this update reinforces Bayer’s push to deepen the evidence base behind finerenone in Asia, a region with high diabetes and kidney disease burden. Strong real-world safety and usage data in Korea could support broader physician confidence, improve market penetration, and extend the product’s life cycle, which is important for Bayer’s cardiovascular and renal franchise. Competitors such as SGLT2 inhibitor makers and other kidney-focused drug companies are also investing in similar real-world data, so positive outcomes from FINE-REAL Korea could help Bayer defend and grow share in a crowded field. Any safety signals, particularly around high potassium, would be closely watched and could pressure sentiment, but continued recruitment and recent updates suggest steady execution so far.

The FINE-REAL Korea study is ongoing and actively updated, with further details and status changes available on the ClinicalTrials portal.

To learn more about BAYRY’s potential, visit the Bayer AG drug pipeline page.