NEW YORK, May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Renalytix AI
plc (LON: RENX), a developer of artificial intelligence-enabled
clinical diagnostics for kidney disease, announced today the
expansion of the core investigator group supporting clinical and
regulatory pathways for FractalDx, a portfolio of advanced
diagnostic and prognostic solutions in kidney transplant.
As previously announced, RenalytixAI formed the FractalDx
investigator group as part of its commercial program for advanced
diagnostic tests expected to make significant improvements in the
identification and monitoring for kidney transplant rejection, and
to aid in accurate dosing of immune-suppression therapy.
"Predicting transplant rejection before damage to the
transplanted kidney occurs remains a major unmet need," said
Kathryn Wood, DPhil, Professor of
Immunology Emerita in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences
at the University of Oxford.
"Accurately determining rejection risk for each transplant
recipient allows individualized treatment to be initiated before
the transplanted kidney is attacked and damaged by the immune
system leading to improved patient care and successful
outcomes."
The number of kidney transplants steadily rises each year in
the United States and
worldwide1 with nearly 20 percent of
transplants failing within three years2. This
highlights the critical need for solutions that will address
patient impact and the growing cost of medical treatment associated
with kidney transplant complications.
"As the need for kidney transplantation continues to increase
due to the rapid growth of the chronic kidney disease (CKD)
epidemic, we must determine a way to assess risk of organ rejection
and personalize treatment for each and every patient," said Dr.
Barbara Murphy, Dean for Clinical
Integration and Population Health, Professor and System Chair
Medicine and Nephrology, at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai, and Chair of the
Scientific Advisory Board of RenalytixAI. "Our expanded group of
investigators will help us in the ongoing development of prognostic
and diagnostic solutions to help address the crucial shortfalls
we're currently facing in the area of kidney transplantation."
The investigator appointments now include:
- Richard Formica, MD –
Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Professor of Surgery
(Transplant); Director of Transplant Medicine; Director Outpatient
Transplantation Service; Medical Director Adult and Pediatric
Kidney Transplantation; and Medical Director Pancreas
Transplantation at Yale School of
Medicine
- Christian P. Larsen, MD,
DPhil – Professor of Surgery, Division of Transplantation,
Department of Surgery and the former dean of the Emory University School of Medicine, and Founding
Director of the Emory Transplant Center
- Roslyn B. Mannon,
MD – Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology
and Professor of Surgery in the Division of Transplantation at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and Director of Research for the Comprehensive Transplant
Institute
- Barbara Murphy, MD –
Dean for Clinical Integration and Population Health, Professor and
System Chair Medicine and Nephrology, at the Icahn School of
Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Peter Nickerson, MD,
FRCPC – Clinical Nephrologist, Professor of Internal
Medicine and Immunology, and Associate Dean for Research at the
University of Manitoba, and Executive
Medical Director, Organs and Tissue Office, at the Canadian Blood
Services
- Philip O'Connell,
MD – Clinical Professor in Medicine, Director of the
Centre for Transplant and Renal
Research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, and
Director of Transplant Medicine and the Clinical Islet Transplant
Program at the Westmead Hospital Sydney
- Emilio D. Poggio, MD, FASN
– Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College
of Medicine of CWRU, and Medical Director, Kidney and Kidney
Pancreas Transplant Program, at the Cleveland Clinic
- Kathryn Wood, DPhil
– Professor of Immunology Emerita in the Nuffield Department
of Surgical Sciences at the University of
Oxford
- Weijia Zhang, PhD –
Director, Integrative Bioinformatics and Professor of Medicine, at
the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai
The FractalDx technology is based principally on
sequencing biomarkers from a patient's blood using widely available
instrument platforms. Products under development from the portfolio
are anticipated to be part of the extended RenalytixAI pipeline
following the introduction of KidneyIntelX in 2019 for the
diagnosis of fast-progressing chronic kidney disease.
As outlined in an announcement on January 2, 2019, RenalytixAI had exercised its
option from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ("ISMMS") for the exclusive
license to technology and data underlying the FractalDx
product portfolio. The Company is expected to initiate the clinical
validation for the first diagnostic product from the portfolio
beginning in the second half of 2019.
About Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is now
recognized as a public health epidemic affecting over 850 million
people globally. In the United
States alone, over 40 million people are classified as
having chronic kidney disease, with nearly 50 percent of
individuals with advanced (Stage IV) disease unaware of the
severity of their reduced kidney function. As a result, many
patients progress to kidney failure in an unplanned manner, ending
up having dialysis in the emergency room without ever seeing a
clinical specialist, such as a nephrologist. Every day 13 patients
die in the United States while
waiting for a kidney transplant.
About RenalytixAI
RenalytixAI is a developer of
artificial intelligence-enabled clinical diagnostic solutions for
kidney disease, one of the most common and costly chronic medical
conditions globally. The Company's solutions are being designed to
make significant improvements in kidney disease diagnosis and
prognosis, clinical care, patient stratification for drug clinical
trials, and drug target discovery. For more information, visit
renalytixai.com.
1 United Network for Organ Sharing
(UNOS), 2019
2 National Kidney Foundation, 2019
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/renalytixai-expands-core-investigator-group-for-kidney-transplant-advanced-diagnostic-program-300853746.html
SOURCE RenalytixAI