AstraZeneca and MedImmune join kidney disease research consortium

AstraZeneca and MedImmune have become members of a new kidney disease research consortium with Lilly and the University of Michigan.

The RPC2 (Renal Precompetitive Consortium) organisation will combine extensive clinical and molecular data collected by the university with the research and development expertise of its pharmaceutical industry partners to identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases.

Professor Matthias Kretzler of the University of Michigan has established a renal database containing information from more than 1,000 patients, as well as from multiple animal models, to advance research into the condition.

Thanks to this database, the consortium will be able to explore key pathways driving the progression of kidney disease, with each member contributing bioinformatic and scientific capabilities to build on the analyses already begun by the university of Michigan.

Members will retain the right to explore targets of interest independently.

Marcus Schindler, head of the cardiovascular and metabolic diseases innovative medicines unit at AstraZeneca, 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."