George Clinical Recruits More than 5,000 Patients in the Global Kidney Patient Trials Network


George Clinical, in close collaboration with The George Institute for Global Health, recently announced the recruitment of more than 5,000 patients in its ground-breaking, first of its kind, Global Kidney Patient Trials Network (GKPTN), which will accelerate treatments for kidney disease. The concept for the GKPTN is a logical extension of George Clinical’s scientific and clinical operations leadership in the kidney space. In early 2020, the GKPTN enrolled its first patient with the purpose of developing a network of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) willing to participate in clinical research projects accessible through a single global chronic kidney disease platform. The GKPTN now has more than 140 sites in nine countries globally recruiting patients including Australia, China, Japan, US, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and Italy with the full intention of continuing to expand the number of countries in the coming years.

The GKPTN aims to accelerate the development of new treatments and provide equitable benefits for the millions of people globally who suffer from chronic kidney disease and the many rarer kidney diseases associated with glomerular nephropathies. It is the rarer diseases that have seen increased focus of late from drug developers in the race to find treatments for these underserved patients. Responding to the needs of the researchers in the kidney space, George Clinical has made a commitment to prioritize the recruitment of patients into the network with these more rare glomerulonephropathies while still remaining focused on the development of a master protocol under which future CKD trials can be run in a more efficient manner.

George Clinical Chief Medical Officer, Maria Ali, said “Our ultimate goal is to grow the GKPTN to a total of 10,000 patients by the end of 2027, which will give us the bandwidth to support dozens of clinical trials in the kidney space. We are well on our way to achieving our goals as we seek to provide the infrastructure necessary to make recruitment timelines shorter and reduce the time to get needed treatments to patients.”

There are a number of trials currently being supported by the GKPTN that are targeting treatments for CKD and glomerulonephropathy, and the network has the capacity to support many more simultaneous trials.  George Clinical, as the leading CRO in the kidney space will have an expanded presence to engage those in the industry interested in leveraging the network at the upcoming 2022 ASN Kidney Week in Orlando and briefings with scientific leaders and operations leads will be available.

The development of the GKPTN was made possible through a generous grant from AstraZeneca and serves as a clear example of a true research partnership.

With recruitment underway across nine countries and more than 140 sites with more than 5,000 patients already enrolled, the GKPTN allows for the ongoing and long term collection of critical data from patients suffering from kidney disease that will be analyzed for future treatment pathways and important interventions.  The network establishes global infrastructure in a collaborative fashion to facilitate rapid and improved access to trials for patients with kidney disease.

George Clinical is a leading global clinical research organization founded in Asia-Pacific driven by scientific expertise and operational excellence. With over 20 years of experience and more than 400 people managing 39 geographical locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region, US, and Europe, George Clinical provides the full range of clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic customers, for all trial phases, registration and post-marketing trials. For more information, visit https://www.georgeclinical.com.