Chronic Kidney Diseases Clinical Trials

Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) impose a significant global health burden. Yet, no effective therapies currently exist for AKI, and only a few are available for CKD. Despite significant effort from industry and academia, development of pharmacologic therapies for AKI and CKD has been hampered by: Non-predictive animal models The inability to identify and prioritize human targets The limited availability of human kidney biopsy tissue A poor understanding of AKI and CKD heterogeneity Historically, AKI and CKD have been described as single, uniform diseases. However, growing consensus suggests that different disease pathways lead to different subgroups of AKI and CKD (AKIs and CKDs). Access to human kidney biopsy tissue is a critical first step to define disease heterogeneity and determine the precise molecular pathways that will facilitate identification of specific drug targets and ultimately enable individualized care for people with AKI and CKD. A number of research centers across the United States are collaborating to bring state-of-the-art technologies together to: Ethically obtain and evaluate kidney biopsies from participants with AKI or CKD Define disease subgroups Create a kidney tissue atlas Identify critical cells, pathways, and targets for novel therapies The KPMP is made up of three distinct, but highly interactive, activity groups: Recruitment Sites: The recruitment sites (RS) are responsible for recruiting participants with AKI or CKD into the longitudinal study and performing the kidney biopsy. Tissue Interrogation Sites: The tissue interrogation sites (TIS) are responsible for developing and using innovative technologies to analyze the biopsy tissue. Central Hub: The central hub is responsible for aggregating, analyzing, and visualizing the generated data and providing scientific, infrastructure, and administrative support for the KPMP consortium. Read Less

Immediate release (IR) tacrolimus peaks in the first two hours after administration. These peak levels are influenced by CYP3A5 expression with expressors requiring higher total daily doses with higher peak levels compared to non-expressors. Tacrolimus XR (Envarsus) is a once daily formulation with delayed absorption and lower peak levels while maintaining similar trough levels as seen with IR tacrolimus. A randomized trial of conversion from IR tacrolimus to tacrolimus XR in kidney transplant recipients have shown similar efficacy and adverse events between the two groups but no improvement in estimated GFR. However, urinary biomarkers of acute kidney injury associated with changes in tacrolimus dosing may be more sensitive then serum creatinine. The objective of this study is to assess renal tubular injury in heart transplant recipients who are converted from immediate release to tacrolimus XR. The hypothesis is that the delayed absorption and lower peak levels of tacrolimus XR will lead to less tubular injury and improved renal function without increased risk to the heart allograft. Read Less