The University of Michigan and AstraZeneca have decided to collaborate on the upcoming CKD consortium.
+ Technology/Innovation
Jamie Barrand | Feb 13, 2016

University of Michigan, AstraZeneca partner on chronic kidney disease consortium

In keeping with an agreement between pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Michigan (U of M), the RPC2 (renal precompetitive consortium) has been formed to find new therapeutic targets for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Representatives from U of M and AstraZeneca's global biologics research and development division MedImmune will oversee the project, which will rely heavily on clinical and molecular data that have been compiled by U of M professor Matthias Kretzler. The data include a renal database containing information from more than 1,000 patients and animal models.

It is hoped the consortium will lead to knowledge about the progression of chronic kidney disease, as well as new treatment therapies.

“We have to find ways to bring new therapies to our patients faster,” Kretzler said. “The RPC2 gives us the opportunity to combine large-scale clinical and molecular data exploration with the development expertise of the pharmaceutical industry.”

Marcus Schindler, head of AstraZeneca's Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases (CVMD) Innovative Medicines Unit, agreed.

“For AstraZeneca, joining this consortium represents a great step forward in our aspiration to become a leader in the treatment of CKD,” he said. “We believe that knowledge generated in the consortium will lead to an expansion of our portfolio with targets that have a strong patient-based foundation.”

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