Renalytix AI upbeat on new study findings

Renalytix AI announced the findings of a new study in which the commercially-available ‘KidneyIntelX’ test accurately predicted the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in a multinational cohort from the CANagliflozin CardioVAScular Assessment Study (CANVAS), with early-stage DKD.

The AIM-traded firm said the clinical outcome data suggested that KidneyIntelX risk assessments could support primary care physicians in making appropriate therapeutic intervention decisions with early-stage DKD patients, to effectively delay progression and reduce the risk of adverse events.

It said the results showed comparable risk stratification with prior validation studies, in which participants identified by KidneyIntelX as high risk had a more-than-eightfold higher rate of disease progression compared with those that scored low risk.

In contrast, the application of the guideline-recommended ‘Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes’ (KDIGO) risk classification tool, based on kidney function and urine albumin concentration, only provided a 2.5-times gradient for DKD progression among study participants identified as high risk, compared with those scored as low risk.

The data, presented at the International Society of Nephrology World Congress of Nephrology 2021, was the first of a series of outcomes from the analysis of the CANVAS cohort in conjunction with Janssen Research and Development, the board said, including the role of KidneyIntelX in treatment decisions and monitoring therapeutic effect.

“KidneyIntelX performed very well in a multi-national cohort of individuals with type-2 diabetes and early-stage DKD,” said Dr David Lam, first author on the presentation and medical director at Mount Sinai Clinical Diabetes Institute.

“The new data from CANVAS supports primary care physicians using the KidneyIntelX score to risk stratify and make informed care decisions with their patients.

“The results also advance the concept that there is most to be gained from early-stage intervention and the protective effects of SGLT2i on kidney function decline in those that score as highest risk for progression with KidneyIntelX.”

At 1225 BST, shares in Renalytix AI were up 0.63% at 951p.