UC San Diego, iSAEC partner to study genetics of drug induced renal injury

The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium (iSAEC) announced today it will collaborate with the University of California, San Diego  School of Medicine and UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science to research the genetics of drug induced renal injury (DIRI). The iSAEC is a novel, non-profit international research consortium, funded by the global pharmaceutical industry and the Wellcome Trust, to better understand the role genetics plays in drug safety and response.  UC San Diego is one of the country's top research universities and has an impressive history of pioneering biomedical and scientific research.  The International Drug Induced Renal Injury Consortium (DIRECT) will be supported by the NIH funded O'Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research which is also home to  the International Acute Kidney Injury Registry.  The O'Brien Center is a collaborative research endeavor between the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of California, San Diego.

DIRECT will be co-directed by Ravindra L Mehta, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Associate Chair for Clinical Research, Department of Medicine, Principal Investigator for the UCSD O'Brien Center; and Linda Awdishu, PharmD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy.   DIRECT will recruit patients with serious drug induced renal injury reactions, through a collaborative network comprised of 20+ leading clinical research centers from around the world. This collaboration will launch the iSAEC's research into the genetics of drug induced renal injury (DIRI), through a research strategy that focuses on key causal drugs and diverse populations groups that experience this adverse drug reaction.

"Our genetic research points to a strong role of the immune system in these adverse responses." said Arthur L. Holden, Chairman of the iSAEC. "To better understand the full genetic effects contributing to these diseases, we need to develop a large and diverse collection of research subjects, in conjunction with international clinical researchers who share our strong interest and have experience with DIRI reactions.  We are thrilled that Drs. Mehta and Awdishu and the O'Brien Center share our commitment to such a large scale international research collaboration.  I can think of no better setting for the DIRECT clinical coordinating center and bio-repository than at UC San Diego."

"Our ultimate aim is to develop simple genetic tests so that drug therapy can be personalized and those at risk of these kidney reactions can be prescribed medications safely," said Mehta. "This is a great opportunity to further our research into genetic and molecular basis of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), while expanding the research network we have developed for AKI. The main aim of the project is to define the genetic risk factors predisposing to DIRI in order to develop strategies for individualization of drug therapy to maximize benefits and minimize harm.  International cooperation and scale are vital to enable us to understand these relatively frequent, serious, adverse reactions to certain prescription medicines causing AKI."

SOURCE iSAE Consortium Ltd.