Clinical Research Center of UConn School of Medicine teaming with Connecticut's Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for innovative clinical trial targeting the root cause of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN).
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Have you ever heard of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN)? Probably not, unless you or your loved one's been diagnosed with this actually most common type of kidney inflammation in the world which also afflicts 200,000 Americans annually.
This kidney inflammation occurs when the body makes too much of a germ-fighting protein substance called Gd-IgA1 (galactose-deficient IgA1) and the immune system reacts by making antibodies that stick to it, forming clumps of these abnormal antibodies that build up in the kidneys. This buildup overtime causes scarring and inflammation, which can damage the kidneys permanently and even may lead to kidney failure.
There are currently no FDA-approved treatments directly targeting the underlying cause of IgAN, but a promising new injectable medication may quickly offer greater hope for patients living with the inflammatory kidney issue by working rapidly to slow or even stop the kidney disease in its tracks.
Connecticut-based Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has developed and is further testing its medicine called BHV-1400 to help treat the root cause of IgAN. This medicine is designed to remove the harmful buildup of the abnormal galactose deficient IgA (Gd-IgA) while leaving the normal, healthy IgA alone to help fight off infections.
BHV-1400 in Phase 1 clinical trials has already been shown to selectively and successfully target and rapidly remove and sustain removal of up to over 81 percent of Gd-IgA for weeks after just a single injectable dose is administrated under the skin. The bad actor of Gd-IgA is carried to the liver to be broken down and discarded from the body to help prevent kidney damage and lower the risk of infections.
A biopsy can confirm whether or not a patient has IgA Nephropathy. Symptoms of the condition, which may have a delayed onset of years or even decades, include blood or too much protein in the urine, high blood pressure, loss in kidney function, and even kidney failure.
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the sponsor of the clinical trial, is conducting the clinical trial at multiple locations like UConn Health in the United States and the United Kingdom.
"This is an exciting clinical trial for a novel treatment for IgA Nephropathy. There is a lot of hope for our IgA Nephropathy patient community that this new precision immunotherapy for kidney inflammation can help improve kidney health even within hours. This treatment is unique in that it is the first and only option that specifically targets and removes the underlying cause of IgAN, Galactose deficient IgA," says Dr. Yanlin Wang, chief of the division of nephrology at UConn School of Medicine.
Wang concludes, "UConn is grateful to be able to help test this medication for Biohaven that may truly help for the first time address our patients' inflammatory kidney disease's underlying pathogenesis straight on. Remember, if you or your loved one are having symptoms of any kidney issue, please seek important, early diagnosis and treatment to protect your kidney health."
The new clinical trial is being conducted by the UConn School of Medicine's expert research staff in the Clinical Research Center. It is open to adults 18 to 65 years of age who have a confirmed diagnosis of IgA Nephropathy, verified through biopsy and supported by urine protein-creatinine ratio (UPCR) analysis.
