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

The team from the Nephrology department, SU: Seema Baid – Agrawal, Gert Jensen, Kianoush Makvandi, Aso Saeed
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>>