SEATTLE, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDNY), the IgA Nephropathy Foundation and Komodo Health today announced an outreach initiative leveraging data and technology to drive awareness of Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy and engage key medical providers at nephrology practices across the U.S. On the heels of National Kidney Month in March, the collaboration will drive strategic, targeted medical outreach to nephrology care providers to better address the tremendous unmet patient need for this rare kidney disease. The initiative also raises awareness about the IgA nephropathy disease burden and ensures patients have access to optimal support and treatment options earlier in their journey.
IgA nephropathy is a serious progressive autoimmune disease in which galactose-deficient immunoglobulin A1 is recognized as a critical autoantigen to which IgA nephropathy patients develop circulating autoantibodies, resulting in the formation and deposition of immune complexes in the glomeruli of the kidney. This process initiates an inflammatory cascade that damages the glomeruli, resulting in protein and blood leaking into the urine, called proteinuria and hematuria, respectively. Ultimately the filtration function of the kidney is impaired, reducing the ability to remove waste products from the blood. As the disease progresses, these waste products accumulate and can result in potentially life-threatening complications that often lead to the need for dialysis or kidney transplant. Yet, few resources exist to help patients and caregivers optimally manage their disease earlier in its progression.
To better support early diagnosis and potentially slow disease progression, this effort will apply insights from Komodo’s Aperture software to drive strategic outreach and education to healthcare providers who are likely to encounter patients with IgA nephropathy. Komodo’s technology tracks disease burden trends using de-identified, real-world healthcare data for more than 330 million patients in the U.S. This comprehensive, longitudinal view into the healthcare system will allow the IgA Nephropathy Foundation to more effectively identify the providers and regions of the country most in need of outreach and education, arming them with resources that can optimize treatment options for people who have been diagnosed with this disease, including information about clinical trials.
“Through our collaborative efforts with the IgA Nephropathy Foundation as well as our work at Chinook developing atrasentan and BION-1301 for IgA nephropathy, we have learned that the patient journey can be daunting and isolating. Managing this condition is not only about the physical symptoms and signs that kidney function may be declining, but also about coping with the challenges, uncertainty and emotions that come with living with IgA nephropathy,” said Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics. “Our collaboration with the IgA Nephropathy Foundation and Komodo Health aims to address these obstacles, arming the patient and provider communities with important tools and connections to improve the diagnostic and treatment journey.”
It is these very challenges facing patients that serve as a driving force for the IgA Nephropathy Foundation in pursuing its mission.
“Although we are making strides, IgA nephropathy remains poorly understood and is often misdiagnosed,” said Bonnie Schneider, director and co-founder of the IgA Nephropathy Foundation. “Patients frequently don't know where to turn for support or tools to better manage their disease. The IgA Nephropathy Foundation is that caring community providing support, information and hope. With support from Chinook, we are working with Komodo’s clinical intelligence software, giving us a more comprehensive view of the U.S. healthcare landscape so we can pinpoint and engage with the right nephrology practices faster than ever before to provide them with vital resources for patients and caregivers.”
Research has previously shown that patients who actively participate in their care and understand their disease report higher levels of satisfaction with their care, are more likely to adhere to diagnostic and treatment plans, and generally feel more in control of their future health despite being faced with a serious disease. The technology and insights from Komodo Health will help the IgA Nephropathy Foundation better track and manage how they identify nephrologists across the U.S., with the goal of making it easier and faster to connect the IgA nephropathy patient community with appropriate healthcare providers, clinical researchers and patient support resources.
“Our goal is to reach patients with IgA nephropathy much earlier in their disease course, to ensure they are optimally treated and to slow declines in kidney function. It is also critical to connect them to others living with the condition and to ensure they have the tools to navigate living with kidney disease so that they don't feel alone,” said Jonathan Barratt, Ph.D., F.R.C.P, the Mayer professor of renal medicine at University of Leicester, honorary consultant nephrologist at Leicester General Hospital and co-chair of the atrasentan ALIGN Study steering committee. “It can be scary to find out you or a loved one has IgA nephropathy. Encouraging nephrologists to refer patients to the IgA Nephropathy Foundation for information and support is critically important as we want patients to understand their condition and feel better prepared to manage it over time.”
Though more clinical trials are becoming available for people living with IgA nephropathy, the disease remains misunderstood, and many patients share stories of misdiagnosis before finally obtaining the correct diagnosis and finding a nephrologist who is knowledgeable about the disease. The IgA Nephropathy Foundation helps patients navigate the important steps necessary to support their kidney health and manage the challenges of living with IgA nephropathy.
“This effort will help to educate clinicians and patients alike to improve quality of care,” said Web Sun, co-founder and president of Komodo Health. “In line with our mission, we’re honored to provide the technology resources necessary to help address the significant burden of disease facing patients with this rare disease.”
About Chinook Therapeutics, Inc.
Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision medicines for kidney diseases. Chinook’s product candidates are being investigated in rare, severe chronic kidney disorders with opportunities for well-defined clinical pathways. Chinook’s lead program is atrasentan, a phase 3 endothelin receptor antagonist for the treatment of IgA nephropathy and other proteinuric glomerular diseases. BION-1301, an anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody is being evaluated in a phase 1/2 trial for IgA nephropathy. In addition, Chinook is advancing CHK-336, an oral small molecule LDHA inhibitor for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, as well as research programs for other rare, severe chronic kidney diseases. Chinook is building its pipeline by leveraging insights in kidney single cell RNA sequencing, human-derived organoids and new translational models, to discover and develop therapeutics with differentiating mechanisms of action against key kidney disease pathways. To learn more, visit www.chinooktx.com.
About the IgA Nephropathy Foundation
As the only dedicated patient advocacy group for people affected by IgA nephropathy, the IgA Nephropathy Foundation’s mission is to be a patient-centric organization focused on finding a cure for IgA nephropathy. Using the power of the patient community we are focused on funding research, using patient advocacy to empower our patients, and building a network of support. As a patient-run organization, we will work together with the hope of finding better treatment options and the ultimate cure. By patients, for patients. To learn more, visit www.igan.org.
About Komodo Health
Komodo Health builds groundbreaking software solutions powered by our Healthcare Map – the industry’s largest and most comprehensive view of real-world, patient journey data. Komodo’s next-generation analytics make it easy to unlock meaningful insights and create more cost-effective, value-driven solutions that improve patient outcomes. In our mission to reduce the global burden of disease, we help healthcare and Life Sciences enterprises answer healthcare’s most complex questions. For more information, visit komodohealth.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward looking, including those relating to Chinook’s business, future operations, advancement of its product candidates and product pipeline, clinical development of its product candidates, including expectations regarding the advancement of its products and the timing of initiation and results of clinical trials. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “project,” “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, including initiation of clinical trials of our existing product candidates or those developed as part of the Evotec collaboration, whether results of early clinical trials or preclinical studies will be indicative of the results of future trials, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our ability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that may be more advanced or have greater resources than we do, our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates and the effects of COVID-19 on our clinical programs and business operations. Many of these risks are described in greater detail in our filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Chinook assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
Contact:
Chinook Therapeutics, Inc.
Noopur Liffick
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
investors@chinooktx.com
media@chinooktx.com
IgA Nephropathy Foundation
Bonnie Schneider
Director and Co-Founder
bonnie@igan.org
Komodo Health
Kristi Bond
Director of Public Relations, Komodo Health
media@komodohealth.com
