Congressional Kidney Caucus Briefing Highlights Innovation in Kidney Care

September 28, 2018

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.

Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP, FASN, FNKF, Kidney Care Partners Chair provided opening remarks that highlighted the epidemic of kidney diseases and the need to ensure access to quality care.

Edwin J. Simcox, Chief Technology Officer and Acting Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided an overview of KidneyX, and announced that the American Society of Nephrology and HHS have contributed to the inaugural KidneyX Prize: . Announcing the first prize pool had a total of $2,625,000 and that KidneyX would 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.