What You Should Know:
– Frenova Renal Research, a global division of Fresenius Medical Care, announced today that it has started to enroll patients in its new endeavor to build the world’s largest genomics registry targeting kidney disease.
– The registry will be used to help advance understanding of the genetic drivers of kidney disease and shape more precise, individualized therapies.
Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure, announced today that the company’s Frenova division has enrolled the first participants in its new initiative to develop the largest renal-focused genomic registry in the world. In addition, the company announced that Ali Gharavi, MD, Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, will lead the project and provide scientific guidance as Principal Investigator.
Why It Matters
Nephrology has been under-represented in clinical research, even as rapid progress in gene sequencing and analysis has led to advances in precision medicine and individualized care in oncology, cardiology and other medical areas. Frenova’s new genomic registry will contain genetic sequencing data from chronic kidney disease patients worldwide, which will be used by researchers to improve the understanding of kidney disease. Frenova developed the registry after researchers identified the lack of a large-scale, renal-focused registry of genomic and clinical data as a major impediment to kidney disease research.
As a contract clinical development services company dedicated exclusively to medicines and medical products in renal research, Frenova orchestrates studies within the clinical footprint of Fresenius Medical Care, which provides dialysis treatments to about 350,000 patients around the globe. The renal-focused genomic registry represents a new business line within Frenova, which is based in Fresenius Medical Care’s Global Medical Office. As part of its growth strategy 2025, Fresenius Medical Care is using digital technologies and the capability to analyze huge amounts of data to develop new forms of renal therapy.
“The new Frenova registry will close this gap by generating data that adds a clinical and genetic backbone to help support and fuel scientific innovation,” said Franklin W. Maddux, MD, Global Chief Medical Officer of Fresenius Medical Care. “The evidence for genetic drivers in kidney diseases is substantial, but much larger data sets will be needed to untangle the complex interactions that lead to kidney injury. By combining clinical and genetic sequencing data from ethnically and pathologically diverse participants, this genomic and phenotypic research resource will help scientists better understand how genetic variations in patients can lead to more precise diagnoses and therapies that help improve outcomes by individualizing care.”
