Renalytix AI enters new partnership in America's 'diabetes belt'

The AIM-traded firm said its ‘KidneyIntelX’ bio-prognostic platform for early-stage diabetic kidney disease risk assessment would be available through Atrium Health's electronic health record (EHR) system, providing access to primary care physicians, endocrinologists, nephrologists and care teams across 37 hospitals and more than 1,350 care locations in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Atrium Health, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves more than seven million people in the region, providing care under the ‘Wake Forest Baptist Health’ name in the Winston-Salem area, and ‘Atrium Health Navicent’ in Georgia.

Renalytix said it would co-locate personnel in Winston-Salem to support the partnership program with Wake Forest School of Medicine at the iQ Healthtech Labs in the city’s innovation district.

The company said the new programme would initially target diabetes-associated kidney disease, a critical healthcare need in the region served by Atrium Health and designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the ‘diabetes belt’ and the ‘kidney disease belt’.

In the region in particular, but also nationally and internationally, costs and patient suffering related to diabetes and its associated complications were increasing at what the board described as “unsustainable” rates.

“Our commitment to advancing kidney health with KidneyIntelX is strategically aligned with Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health's goal to advance care delivery using innovative precision medicine guided care,” said chief executive officer James McCullough.

“Renalytix values this opportunity to demonstrate clear, informative evidence of the value of a comprehensive care solution in a region of the United States particularly challenged by diabetic kidney disease.

“That evidence is important for clinicians, patients, regulators and payers.”

At 0910 BST, shares in Renalytix AI were up 1.01% at 1,045.5p.