Nephrology Talks

Industry trends and clinical advancements in nephrology

In nephrology, there are currently few approved treatment options outside dialysis and kidney transplants – which are expensive and high risk. The significant unmet need for this therapeutic area is finally being recognized as an area of opportunity in clinical development.

Over the past few years, an increased understanding of disease pathophysiology has led to a 70% increase in clinical development activity with the testing of potential new drugs with novel mechanism of actions. From 2017 to 2020, the number of early development clinical trials in Phase I and II doubled, as well.

Our expert series explores the latest industry trends and clinical advancements through interviews with leaders in nephrology.

Polystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and the PKD Foundation talk

The foundation was originally founded in 1982 by Jared Grantham (a PKD researcher at the University of Kansas) and Joseph Bruening (a member of the patient community) as the Polycystic Kidney Research Foundation with the main goal to fund dedicated research projects to find treatments and a cure for polycystic kidney disease (PKD). In this recent nephrology talk, Davide Garrisi and Elise Hoover review the PKD Foundation’s history, its mission and programs to help families with the disease.

Diversity in chronic Kidney Disease talk

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has become recognized globally as an important cause of premature morbidity and mortality. According to the National Kidney Foundation, African Americans experience some of the highest rates of CKD in comparison to other racial ethic groups. In fact, compared to the white population, the rate of kidney failure in the United States is almost four times more prevalent among African Americans and 1.3 times more common among Hispanics. While African Americans make up 13.5% of the population, they make up more than 35% of dialysis patients.

Nadine Brown and Drs. Rose Blackburne and Carmichael Angeles discuss why in this episode of Nephrology Talks.