Scientists at Egenesis Inc. have transplanted kidneys from genome-edited pigs into cynomolgus monkeys that remained functional for long periods after transplantation. The monkeys, whose own kidneys were removed during the surgery, survived for a median of 176 days after receiving one pig kidney. Maximal survival was just over 2 years. The data were published today in Nature. Egenesis CEO Mike Curtis told reporters that the study has achieved the longest survival to date “using clinically translatable immunosuppression … longer survival has been achieved using really aggressive immunosuppression that really isn’t clinically translatable.”
Scientists at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health have developed a humanized kidney at the mesonephros stage in pig embryos up to day 28 of gestation. It is the first time that this has been achieved in chimeric xenotransplants.
Glycyrrhizic acid (GL) and its glycocan display anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antioxidant properties. Highly conserved nuclear protein (HMGB1) is a pro-inflammatory mediator that can be inhibited by GL, but the large size of the latter creates the need to obtain GL analogues with enhanced activity and stability.
The contribution of the soluble form of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) as a risk factor for chronic kidney diseases (CKD) is well known. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and collaborators have now identified D2D3, a suPAR fragment, as responsible for causing double injury, both to the kidney and pancreas, thus resulting in glomerular disease and insulin-dependent diabetes.
Awak Technologies Pte Ltd. raised more than $20 million in a series B round that will position the company to potentially transform the management of chronic kidney disease with its wearable and portable peritoneal dialysis (PD) device designed to enable patients with end-stage kidney disease to have dialysis on the go.
Mironid Ltd. has announced an extension of its series A financing round to support its development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The company will use the proceeds of the financing to advance its lead discovery program through IND-enabling studies.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has disclosed apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and pancreatic cancer.
Medalliance SA reported completion of patient enrollment in the SAVE clinical trial with its Selution SLR 018 drug-eluting balloon. Eighty-four subjects have been recruited for this prospective multi-center, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. These patients received either standard high-pressure balloon angioplasty followed by local application of Selution SLR, or else high-pressure balloon angioplasty with no further lesion treatment.
The paper published June 19 in Nature Genetics that described a genome-wide analysis to narrow down the implicated pathogenic signaling pathways and “prioritize drug targets for IgA nephropathy [IgAN]” no doubt proved of great interest to developers, plenty of which are busy in the space.
Wuhan LL Science & Technology Development Co. Ltd. has synthesized mannan-binding lectin serine protease 2 (MASP2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of lupus nephritis and IgA nephropathy, among others.
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