By Ryan Murray; ASN Research Advocacy Specialist
The Congressional Kidney Caucus hosted a briefing titled
The Vital Public-Private Partnership in Kidney Care: Advancing Care, Research & Innovation for Individuals with Kidney Diseases, Kidney Failure and Transplants on Friday, September 28, 2018. Organized in cooperation with the
American Association of Kidney Patients, the
American Society of Nephrology,
Kidney Care Partners, and the
Renal Physicians Association, the briefing highlighted the public health crisis that kidney diseases pose for our society and the work that is being done across the government — from Congress, to regulatory agencies, to the administration, and including the kidney community — to improve the lives of the more than 40 million Americans affected by kidney diseases.
Opening remarks by Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP, FASN, FNKF, Kidney Care Partners Chair highlighted the epidemic of kidney diseases and the need to ensure access to quality care.
Edwin J. Simcox, Chief Technology Officer and Action Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided an overview of
KidneyX, a new
public-private partnership between the HHS and American Society of Nephrology designed to accelerate breakthroughs to promising new technologies for people with kidney diseases. KidneyX will address the barriers innovators commonly identify as they develop new products for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in kidney care by creating a better collaborative relationship among patients, health professionals, innovators, and government.
Mr. Simcox announced that ASN and HHS have contributed to KidneyX Prize: Redesign Dialysis, the first in a series of prize competitions, announcing the first prize pool being a total of $2,625,000. The first prize competition will begin accepting applications on Thursday, October 25, 2018.
Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) shared updates on the great work that NIDDK is conducting, specifically highlighting the
Kidney Precision Medicine Project(KPMP). A revolutionary project, KPMP aims to identify critical human cells, pathways, and targets for new therapies in acute and chronic kidney diseases by obtaining and evaluating human kidney biopsies.
Paul Conway, American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) President and Richard Knight, AAKP Vice President and Chair of Public Policy shared their thoughts on how patients not only benefit from the work being conducted by HHS and the National Institute of Health (NIH), but can help ensure their success by providing their unique and invaluable perspective.
Michael D. Shapiro, MD, MBA, President of the Renal Physicians Association highlighted the importance of ensuring patient’s have access to care and innovative therapies when they are developed.
The Congressional Briefing displayed the alignment of HHS, NIH, the kidney community, and others converging to improve the lives of kidney patients.