Across the Kidneyverse: March 15, 2024

Welcome to a special Kidney Month edition of our monthly Kidneyverse update! This month we’re bringing you (20) headlines, (3) closer looks, and (2) visuals worth exploring.

Because we have a few more headlines than usual, I’ve also included subcategories like policy & partnerships, market trends, research, and commentary to help you navigate the latest news in kidney innovation.

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Headlines

Here’s what caught my eye across the Kidneyverse this month:

Policy & Partnerships

• Former HHS Secretary Alex Azar wrote an excellent piece on how to fix kidney care in the US. This powerful call to action shares his personal connection to kidney care, and his excitement to see how the work he and his team did with the kidney health initiative will help us realize the potential of value-based care. (The Hill — a closer look below).
• This week the Colorado General Assembly amended and passed a bill drafted to remove disincentives to live donor kidney donation. The bill creates the "CARE for Living Organ Donors Act" and includes benefits and recognition for living organ donors. H/t to Gregory Whitman for testifying on Wednesday and bringing this to my attention. (HB24-1132 )
• Strive Health just announced a new multi-state agreement with Humana in five states, including Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and northwest North Carolina. This builds on an existing Humana-Strive relationship, which began in Indiana and Kentucky in 2020. They also added 10,000 additional members in Ohio with Medical Mutual. (Strive )
• Evergreen Nephrology just announced two new additions to its executive leadership team. Philip Cooksey joins as CFO (previously at Humana, Goldman Sachs, and Lazard), and Dr. Timothy Pflederer joins as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) (current president of Renal Care Association, past president of RPA). (Evergreen )
• Delorean AI just announced a partnership with Constellation Kidney Group to deliver next-gen clinical care using AI. Integrating Renal AI into CKG's electronic medical records facilitates the creation of personalized care plans, predicts emergencies, and better supports care teams. (SF Examiner )
• Balboa Nephrology announced its strategic partnership with IKONA to test and commercialize virtual reality (VR) education for people with kidney disease. Together they aim to bolster social support networks and raise awareness among patients with early stage CKD with comprehensive learning tools around ESKD treatment options. (Healio ) Disclaimer: my day job is as CEO of IKONA — big things ahead for providers, patients and families! Okay, back to headlines…

Research & Innovation

• KDIGO just released its 2024 CKD Clinical Practice Guidelines. Key highlights include guidance updates on measuring estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria, utilization of CKD risk prediction equations, and personalized treatment recommendations for kidney and cardiovascular risk reductions tailored to individual patient needs and preferences. (KDIGO )
• LifeLabs announced the inclusion of the Klinrisk Score as a validated equation in the latest KDIGO guidelines. The Klinrisk Score is designed to assess the risk of CKD progression early, including in individuals who are disease-free today. (GN )
• New findings reveal the impact of health care algorithms on racial disparities and patient outcomes. A systematic review of 63 studies published between 2011 and 2023 identified 7 strategies to guide us toward more equitable algorithms. (AJMC )
• CloudCath just released its latest clinical publication, which showed its CloudCath System was able to detect turbidity (cloudiness in PD fluid) consistent with peritonitis with a mean lead time of 3 days over the current standard of care. (ISN )

Market Trends & Insights

• It sounds like Baxter is now considering selling its kidney care business instead of its previously announced plans to spinoff a new public company called Vantive. This news comes from the latest 8K filing— no final decision has been made but the timeline is now second half of 2024. (MedTech Dive — a closer look below).
• The biotech market may finally — actually — be back. Biotech's benchmark index is up 56% from 2023 lows. Public biotechs have already raised over $13 billion on the secondary market, as good clinical data is being rewarded handsomely. IPOs are showing signs of life. Even crossover rounds are trickling back. Learn more in the latest from Andrew Dunn. (Endpoints News )
• Eversana just published a great article on the Commercial Promise of Prescription Drug Use-Related Software (PDURS) - specifically FDA’s new framework that enables software that demonstrates a clinical benefit to a drug to be added to the drug’s label (“FDA-required labeling”). (Eversana — a closer look below).
• FDA also just cleared the first over-the-counter (OTC) continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, Dexcom’s Stelo. The device is intended for anyone 18 years and older who does not use insulin— such as individuals with diabetes treating their condition with oral medications— or those without diabetes who want to better understand how diet and exercise may impact blood sugar levels. (FDA )
• Are you a scientist-founder? If so, you’ll want to read A Scientific Approach to VC by NfX’s Omri Amirav-Drory . As he puts it, “If you know how VCs think and how the game is played, it will totally change how you tell your story, generate excitement, and pick your investors.” (NfX )

Network & Commentary

• Strive Health’s Will Stokes (Co-Founder, Chief Growth Officer) was on the latest episode of Vital Signs with Jacob Effron (Redpoint) and Nikhil Krishnan (Out of Pocket) to talk about what goes into a risk-based contract, how specialized VB models engage with primary care, and what makes kidney care attractive to value-based care. (Spotify )
• Healio interviewed the new chair of Kidney Care Partners, Dr. Mahesh Krishnan , about what he brings to the table at KCP and his priorities for the upcoming year. This is an important read to understand current policy and payment barriers to innovation in kidney care, as well as what it will take to establish a clear market pathway for future products and technologies. (Healio )
• A recent NPR piece explores how genetically modified pigs could end the shortage of organs for transplants. If you want to know where things stand today in this field of research, this is a great read-listen about the xenotransplant work being done at companies like Revivicor and eGenesis. (NPR )
• Tired of all the buzz around LLMs in healthcare? 20 members of Forbes Tech Council recently shared real-world uses cases for LLMs — including a few they achieved themselves — and lessons we can learn from them. (Forbes )

...Continue reading our Closer Looks and Visuals of the Month here.

Reading time: 10 minutes

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