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ISN Nexus Committee Chair Toshio Miyata explains the reason behind this choice of theme: “In kidney disease, very few drugs have been developed despite an increasing number of patients. Treating most chronic kidney diseases mainly relies on drugs developed for other conditions, such as anti-hypertensive, glucose or lipid lowering, or immunosuppressive agents.”

This symposium provides cutting-edged lectures on recent advances in the drug discovery and clinical trials in kidney disease and has three pillars: target validation, global open innovation for drug discovery and clinical trial, and developing collaborative frameworks among academia, pharma and government.

He continues: “Implementing newer drug discovery and efficient clinical trials in kidney disease calls for a better understanding of the disease’s pathophysiology. New target and molecules relevant to the disease need to be identified and validated. There is a need for advances in the science and technologies of drug discovery and development. Appropriate surrogate biomarkers and clinical end-points have to be established. There must be a better understanding of the latest regulations for pharmaceutical practice and more efficient strategies for pre-clinical tests and clinical trials.”

In previous Nexus, most, if not all, participants were nephrologists. Miyata explains: “This time, pharmaceutical representatives and regulatory authorities will also actively join our discussions on common global issues to delineate new frameworks towards efficient drug discovery and clinical trials in kidney disease.” This meeting may also stimulate young nephrologists to think about common, global issues surrounding our society, clinical trial networking and collaboration.

Introduced in 2006, the Nexus Symposia format was designed to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical practice by offering a profound focus on translational medicine and clinical application.

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