The Kidney Health Initiative (KHI), a public-private partnership between the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seeks to encourage innovation and patient safety in kidney disease through its collaborative partnership with the kidney community.
KHI held its Fourth Annual Stakeholders Meeting May 25–26, 2016, in Silver Spring, MD. The annual meeting brought together diverse representatives from the kidney community, connecting members across different fields and allowing them to share ideas, discuss ongoing projects, collect feedback, and collaborate on potential new projects. Of the more than 30 US and international attendees, nearly a third represented FDA and government agencies, a third were affiliated with industry, and a third represented patients and health care professionals.
Following an evening opening presentation and panel that assessed the impact already made by KHI and outlined future opportunities, Thursday’s small group breakout sessions allowed members to review current KHI projects and provide feedback. The program also featured presentations and panel discussions on telehealth, new technology to tackle patient recruitment and retention in clinical trials, as well as patient and care partner engagement. The meeting agenda may be viewed at https://www.asn-online.org/khi/meetings.aspx.
KHI advances its mission and objectives through the completion of various projects proposed by members across all areas of the kidney community. KHI held its sixth project proposal submission cycle and collected proposals from members for project ideas via its online web portal in the spring of 2016.
During this cycle, KHI received eight project proposals seeking endorsement by the KHI Board of Directors. The proposals demonstrate their huge potential to make an impact on kidney disease and also reflect the diversity of KHI’s membership and interests:
Clinical Trial Endpoints for Cardiovascular Interventions in Advanced CKD
Developing a Framework and Evaluating Patient Preferences for Implantable, Wearable, and Portable Renal Replacement Devices
Developing and Coordinating Best Practices for Systematic Banking of Biosamples for Personalized Kidney Medicine
Development of a Roadmap for Innovations in Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT)
Establishing Appropriate Endpoints for Clinical Trials in Hyperoxaluria
Fostering Development for Fluid Management in Kidney Disease Patients
Guidelines for the Development of Innovations in Vascular Access Care
Understanding and Overcoming the Exclusion of Patients with Kidney Disease from Cardiovascular Trials
The KHI Board of Directors is in the process of reviewing the proposals, scoring them based on their feasibility, impact on the field, and ability to meet the KHI mission. The board will determine which proposals will be officially endorsed this summer. Once projects have been endorsed, interested individuals can apply to serve on project workgroups this fall.
The web-based project portal lets KHI members submit brief project proposals and also discuss and refine submissions. KHI’s seventh project proposal submission cycle will occur in winter 2016–2017. To learn more about KHI’s current projects, workgroup members, and proposals visit KHI online at www.kidneyhealthinitiative.org.
In its fourth year, KHI will continue to strive for continued growth and interaction among its diverse membership to facilitate the efficient passage of drugs, devices, and biologics into the kidney space. If interested in receiving more information about KHI or enrolling as a member organization, please contact the KHI staff at KHI@asn-online.org.
