Kidney Disease clinical trials at UCLA

Researchers are looking for a better way to treat people who have non-diabetic chronic kidney disease (non-diabetic CKD). The trial treatment, finerenone, is being developed to help people who have long lasting kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD). It works by blocking a certain hormone called aldosterone that causes injury and inflammation in the heart and kidney which is known to play a role in CKD. In this trial, the researchers want to learn if finerenone helps to slow down the worsening of the participants' non-diabetic CKD compared to a placebo. A placebo looks like a trial treatment but does not have any medicine in it. The trial will include about 1,580 men and women who are at least 18 years old. The participants will take finerenone or a placebo once a day as tablets by mouth. All of the participants will also continue to take their current medicine for their CKD. The participants will be in the trial for up to about 50 months. During the trial, the doctors will collect blood and urine samples and check the participants' health. The participants will also answer questions about how they are feeling and what adverse events they are having. An adverse event is a medical problem that happens during the trial. Doctors keep track of all adverse events that happen in trials, even if they do not think the adverse events might be related to the trial treatments.

The AFFINITY Study is a phase 2, open-label, basket study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of atrasentan in patients with proteinuric glomerular disease who are at risk of progressive loss of renal function.

Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) who use hemodialysis to filter their blood require vascular access for the dialysis machine; the most common type of vascular access is called an arteriovenous fistula (AVF). The AVF is a direct connect between an artery and vein. Until recently, AVFs were only created through surgery that requires general anesthesia and opening up the skin. Now there are 2 FDA-approved devices designed to create AVFs using endovascular techniques (endoAVF), which means a device that goes through the skin instead of opening the skin up. Also patients are not required to be under general anesthesia, they can receive local anesthesia instead. Due to the relatively new approval of these devices, there is not a randomized study to compare the results of endoAVF versus surgAVF. This study is a pilot study for an eventually larger scale study to compare the results of endoAVF versus surgAVF. The study aims to determine what the proportion of patients seeking hemodialysis access could qualify for receiving either an endoAVF , surgAVF, or both. Patients who are screened for hemodialysis access must undergo a duplex ultrasound of the blood vessels in the arm to confirm correct sizing. If participants qualify for both procedures they will be randomized to either endoAVF or surgAVF and will track the clinical and patient-reported outcomes of each procedure. Our pilot study hopes to enroll 90 participants. Those outcomes will inform a larger scale study. If the potential participant chooses to abstain from participation in the randomized trial, preferring to decide the method of AVF creation, we will offer to them a chance to join an endoAVF/surgAVF registry that will track the clinical outcomes of the procedure via medical record monitoring.

The study is designed as a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study to demonstrate the superiority of iptacopan (LNP023) at a dose of 200 mg b.i.d. compared to placebo on top of maximally tolerated ACEi or ARB on reduction of proteinuria and slowing renal disease progression in primary IgA Nephropathy patients.

Finerenone works by blocking a group of proteins, called mineralocorticoid receptor. An increased stimulation of mineralocorticoid receptor is known to trigger injury and inflammation in the kidney and is therefore thought to play a role in CKD. Empagliflozin lowers blood sugar levels by increasing the excretion of glucose from the blood into the urine. In this study, the researchers want to learn how well the combination of finerenone and empagliflozin helps to slow down the worsening of the participants' kidney function compared to either treatment alone. For this, the level of protein in the urine will be measured. The investigators also want to know how safe the combination is compared to either treatment alone. Depending on the treatment group, the participants will either take the combination of finerenone and empagliflozin, or finerenone together with a placebo, or empagliflozin together with a placebo, once a day as tablets by mouth. A placebo looks like a treatment but does not have any medicine in it. Importantly, the participants will also continue to take their other current medicine for CKD and T2D. The participants will be in the study for up to 7.5 months and will take the study treatments for 6 months. During the study, participants will visit the study site 7 times. The study team will: - collect blood and urine samples - check the participants' vital signs - do a physical examination including height and weight - check the participants' heart health by using an electrocardiogram (ECG) - monitor the participants' blood pressure - ask the participants questions about how they are feeling and what adverse events they may be having An adverse event is any problem that happens during the trial. Doctors keep track of all events that happen in trials, even if they do not think the events might be related to the study treatments.

The ALIGN Study is a phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to compare the efficacy and safety of atrasentan to placebo in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) at risk of progressive loss of renal function.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of belimumab and intravenous rituximab co-administration at inducing a complete remission (CR) compared to rituximab alone in participants with primary membranous nephropathy. Background: Primary membranous nephropathy (MN) is among the most common causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults. MN affects individuals of all ages and races. The peak incidence of MN is in the fifth decade of life. Primary MN is recognized to be an autoimmune disease, a disease where the body's own immune system causes damage to kidneys. This damage can cause the loss of too much protein in the urine. Drugs used to treat MN aim to reduce the attack by one's own immune system on the kidneys by blocking inflammation and reducing the immune system's function. These drugs can have serious side effects and often do not cure the disease. There is a need for new treatments for MN that are better at improving the disease while reducing fewer treatment associated side effects. In this study, researchers will evaluate if treatment with a combination of two different drugs, belimumab and rituximab, is effective at blocking the immune attacks on the kidney compared to rituximab alone. Rituximab works by decreasing a type of immune cell, called B cells. B cells are known to have a role in MN. Once these cells are removed, disease may become less active or even inactive. However, after stopping treatment, the body will make new B cells which may cause disease to become active again. Belimumab works by decreasing the new B cells produced by the body and, may even change the type of new B cells subsequently produced. Belimumab is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (also referred to as lupus or SLE). Rituximab is approved by the FDA to treat some types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and vasculitis. Neither rituximab nor belimumab is approved by the FDA to treat MN. Treatment with a combination of belimumab and rituximab has not been studied in individuals with MN, but has been tested in other autoimmune diseases, including lupus nephritis and Sjögren's syndrome.

The main purpose of this study is to compare the Human Acellular Vessel (HAV) with arteriovenous fistula (AVF) when used for hemodialysis access

The primary aim of the study is to investigate the effect of empagliflozin on kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death versus placebo on top of standard of care in patients with pre-existing chronic kidney disease. After completion of the interventional part of the study (primary study completion) a subset of participants will be followed up in a post-trial observational (non-interventional) manner for cardio-renal outcomes (estimated study completion date).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two different doses of MK-2060 (a monoclonal antibody against Factor XI) in end stage renal disease (ESRD) participants receiving hemodialysis via an arteriovenous graft (AVG). Data from this study will be used to aid dose selection of MK-2060 in future studies. The primary hypothesis is that at least one of the MK-2060 doses is superior to placebo in increasing the time to first occurrence of AVG event.

The primary objective of this study to evaluate the efficacy of ravulizumab compared with placebo to reduce proteinuria and slow the rate of eGFR decline in adult participants with IgAN who are at risk of disease progression.