Evaluation of voclosporin treatment as a podocyte-sparing therapy in proteinuric kidney disease

Proteinuric kidney diseases, such as lupus nephritis, affect approximately 1 in 10 individuals around the world. For many patients, it results in the progression to end-stage kidney disease, for which the only treatments available are dialysis and transplantation. Therefore, it is imperative to develop therapies that slow down or halt the progression of proteinuric kidney disease. Voclosporin (VCS) is a next-generation calcineurin inhibitor currently in phase 3 clinical trials. It confers increased potency when compared to other drugs currently used to treat proteinuric kidney disease. Consequently, VCS can be administered at lower doses and has enhanced therapeutic effects. The over-arching purpose of the proposed research is to evaluate the effects of VCS on kidney podocytes, the filtering cells of the kidney, and compare its mechanism of action to other calcineurin inhibitors. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Kelly McNagny

Student:

Ido Refaeli

Partner:

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Discipline:

Genetics

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Program: