Kidney Compass: Introducing the PARASOL Initiative, with Laura Mariani, MD, MS, and Daniel Gale, PhD, MB BChir

Welcome to Kidney Compass: Navigating Clinical Trials!

Welcome to the first installment of a 4-part series on Kidney Compass highlighting the PARASOL initiative—a global project revolutionizing therapeutic development for rare kidney diseases like FSGS (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis).

In this installment, hosts Brendon Neuen, MBBS, PhD, and Shikha Wadhwani, MD, MS, kick off with a deep dive into the backgrounds of their guests PARASOL co-chair Laura Mariani, MD, MS, associate professor in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Michigan, and Daniel Gale, PhD, MB BChir, director of the UK-based RaDaR Registry and the St Peter's Chair of Nephrology at University College London.

This foundational episode sets the stage for a broader discussion of the methodologies and breakthroughs in kidney disease research.

In the next episode, we’ll delve into the methodological advances and trial designs reshaping the field of nephrology, including the unique challenges of studying rare diseases and emerging therapies like APRIL/BAFF inhibitors for IgA nephropathy and semaglutide for non-diabetic kidney disease.
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For ease of viewing, we've divided this episode, which contains more than an hour of insights into the PARASOL Initiative and FSGS, into 4 sections and highlighted them below.

Kidney Compass: The PARASOL Initiative

Part 1: Introductions (Current Segment)

Part 2: PARASOL Background and FSGS Landscape

Part 3: PARASOL Findings and Implications for FSGS

Part 4: Future of PARASOL, FSGS Management

Relevant disclosures for Neuen include AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer and Ingelheim, Janssen, and others. Relevant disclosures for Wadhwani include the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, GSK, Calliditas and Travere Therapeutics. Relevant disclosures for Mariani include Travere Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Reliant Glycosciences, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, HI-Bio, and Calliditas Therapeutics. Relevant disclosures for Gale include Novartis, Alexion, Calliditas, Britannia, Vifor, Judo Bio, Adnovate, Sanofi, Anlylam, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bayer.