MedTech West researcher Paul Hockings in a pioneering kidney imaging research collaboration

A pioneering kidney imaging research collaboration which is supported and facilitated by MedTech West has just been announced by Antaros Medical, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and AstraZeneca. Paul Hockings, director of imaging at Antaros, is adjunct professor at MedTech West since 2013. The aim of the study is to develop new tools to treat chronic kidney disease (CKD). The collaboration partners will work together to examine a range of imaging endpoints in patients with CKD with the aim to determine which imaging biomarkers are best suited to follow CKD progression in clinical trials of new drugs to treat CKD.

“We are very proud to work together with specialists from Sahlgrenska University Hospital and AstraZeneca to pursue new treatments for patients suffering from CKD. This collaboration is a great example of mutual exchange, and the way the BioVentureHub is facilitating interactions and innovation to strengthen the life science ecosystem in Sweden”, says Johannes Hulthe, CEO Antaros Medical.

Elisabeth Björk, Site Lead & VP, Global Medicines Development Unit, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease, AstraZeneca, says: “10% of the population worldwide is affected by chronic kidney disease, and millions die each year because they do not have access to affordable treatment. This imaging study will help us to improve clinical trials in this area. It is the fruit of a great scientific collaboration and a growing mass of research in Västra Götaland around kidney disease.”

Both the Nephrology and Radiology departments here at SU are deeply involved in the trial. The researchers involved at the Nephrology department are Seema Baid-Agrawal, who is also the principle investigator of this study, together with Gert Jensen, Kianoush Makvandi and Aso Saeed. Researchers involved at the Radiology department are Stephan Maier, Mikael Hellström, Henrik Leonhardt and Tim Unnerstall.

“We are excited about this academia-industry collaboration within the field of CKD. The study will help identify novel non-invasive and sensitive biomarkers to assess kidney function and monitor the progression of the disease in patients with CKD, which would be of a high clinical relevance. Sahlgrenska University Hospital with its great infrastructure and competence provides an ideal set up for this kind of study”, says Seema Baid-Agrawal, MD, FASN, Assoc. Prof. at Nephrology department, SU.

Read the complete press release at Antaros Medical’s webpage here>>