John Sedor, M.D., appointed chair of Steering Committee for KidneyX, a public-private partnership to drive innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases
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John Sedor, M.D., has been appointed chair of the Steering Committee for The Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX), a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) to accelerate innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases.
Established in April 2018, KidneyX was created with the goal to improve the lives of patients who are currently affected by kidney diseases by accelerating the development of drugs, devices, biologics and other therapies across the spectrum of kidney care.
Building off the success of similar public-private accelerators, KidneyX challenges researchers, innovators, and investors to bring breakthrough therapies to patients through a series of prize competitions to fast-track the development of innovative solutions that can prevent, diagnose, and/or treat kidney diseases.
In his role, Dr. Sedor will lead the KidneyX Steering Committee in their mission to promote collaboration between patients, health professionals, innovators, industry, and government with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life for people living with kidney diseases.
“Kidney diseases are often overlooked and underestimated as a serious public health issue but in reality are common, debilitating, and burdensome on patients, their families, and the economy,” said Dr. Sedor. “Unless we encourage investment and innovation and open the pathways to commercialization for new technologies and therapies, patients will continue to suffer. These patients are waiting and need better outcomes – that’s what we’re trying to achieve here.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15 percent of U.S. adults—37 million people—are estimated to have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and 9 in 10 adults with CKD do not know they have it.
The first 2019 KidneyX Summit was recently held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. on April 29-30. Winners of KidneyX’s inaugural prize competition, Redesign Dialysis Phase I, which challenged innovators to create designs of possible solutions or solution components that can replicate normal kidney functions and improve patient quality of life, were announced during the summit. The Redesign Dialysis prize will run in two phases with a total of $2.6 million given in prize money.
Dr. Sedor is the Ray W. Gifford, M.D., Endowed Chair in Kidney Research at the Glickman Urology & Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic and is a professor of molecular medicine at Lerner College of Medicine.
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 66,000 employees are more than 4,200 salaried physicians and researchers and 16,600 nurses, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic’s health system includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 11 regional hospitals in northeast Ohio, more than 180 northern Ohio outpatient locations – including 18 full-service family health centers and three health and wellness centers – and locations in southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nev.; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2018, there were 7.9 million total outpatient visits, 238,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 220,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CCforMedia and twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
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