Partner's Blog - July 2021

 

Dear Valued Member:

In this ever-changing environment, it’s comforting to know that we are in this together and that we will continue to work toward advancing the field of transplantation. As we look ahead to the next six months, we look forward to hosting ATC and our Fellows Symposium virtually. Our ability to adapt has made it possible to continue to offer these important meetings to the transplant community, and the opportunities to connect our partners to AST members. Another exciting venture the AST Partner Connect, which is a platform that allows you to engage with our partners directly, request more information on a product and/or service, or find out more about trials they may be running. I’d like to thank our Corporate Partners for providing the following information so that we can remain connected, engaged, and educated. I continue to appreciate all your help and support during these times of change and uncertainty. I look forward to working together to bring the most valuable resources to the transplant community.

Stay safe and healthy,

Anil Chandraker, MD, FASN, FRCP
AST Development Chair

 

 

View all Partner's Blog updates

The Corporate Affiliates Program provides an exciting opportunity for companies to support the work of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and receive tangible benefits throughout the year. The following companies are members of the 2021 Corporate Affiliate Program (CAP):

 

What's News With Our Partners:

  • Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (@Atarabio) is a leading allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company leveraging its novel allogeneic Epstein Barr virus (EBV) T-cell platform to develop therapies for patients with serious diseases including solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases. Atara’s pipeline includes tabelecleucel in Phase 3 development for EBV-driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and in earlier stages of development for other EBV-associated diseases, ATA188 for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, and next-generation CAR T therapies for solid tumors and hematologic cancers.
  • Atara is now enrolling participants in the ALLELE study, a multicenter, open-label, phase 3 study of tabelecleucel for solid organ or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant subjects with Epstein-Barr virus-associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+ PTLD) after failure of rituximab or rituximab and chemotherapy. For more information about this study, please visit https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03394365.
  • Atara is also enrolling participants in the ATA-129-EBV-205 study, an open-label, single-arm, multi-cohort, phase 2 study to assess the efficacy and safety of tabelecleucel in subjects with Epstein-Barr virus-associated diseases. For more information about this study, please visit https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04554914

In May CSL Behring sponsored The Lyfebulb 2021 Innovation Challenge: Thriving with Transplantation, a virtual competition open to entrepreneurs motivated by a personal connection to organ transplantation who are developing new products and solutions to help organ transplant recipients, donors, care partners, and family members better manage their everyday challenges and improve overall quality of life. Dr. Minnie Sarwal of NephroSant was selected as the winner out of the eleven finalists who submitted business ideas ranging from biotechnology platforms, medical devices, to products for consumers and healthcare professionals. NephroSant will receive the $25,000 monetary award to further develop diagnostic tools for early detection and lifetime monitoring of kidney health and injury, including a non-invasive transplant rejection test designed specifically for kidneys.

 

  • “Use of a Novel Bead-based Assay to Measure the Impact of Imlifidase on ABO IgG Antibodies” was presented by Halpin, et al at the American Transplant Congress 2021 Virtual Connect. The authors presented data on a novel bead-based antibody assay which adequately measures the effect of imlifidase and may provide a tool to clarify if there is a role for imlifidase in ABOi transplantation in individuals with high levels of ABO IgG Ab.
  • • A special issue on Donor Specific Antibody in OBM Transplantation published “Beyond CPRA: Identifying Sensitized Kidney Candidates with Markedly Low Access to Deceased Donor Transplantation by Granular CPRA and Blood Type” (Maldonado, et al). The authors concluded that despite prioritization in KAS leading to improvement in the rates of transplantation for the CPRA 99.9%+ patients, it remained markedly lower than the average. In addition, patients with a CPRA of 99.9%+ and blood group B were 2.16, 1.98, and 1.75 times less likely to receive a transplant compared to the same CPRA group with blood groups A, AB, and O, respectively, despite changes to KAS allocating blood type A2 and A2B to recipients with blood group B. For the full publication, please click here.
  • Hansa Biopharma enters into preclinical research collaboration agreement with argenx BV to evaluate the therapeutic potential of combining the two companies’ IgG-modulating technologies for potential use in both the acute and chronic setting of autoimmune diseases and transplantation.
  • Hansa continues to be in productive dialogue with the FDA and expects to initiate a randomized controlled desensitization study investigating imlifidase vs. standard of care in cPRA ≥99.9% kidney transplant patients. The target is to include first patient during second half of 2021.
    Contact: filippo.guizzetti@hansabiopharma.com


  • Immucor is excited to announce that Palmetto MolDX has finalized a local coverage determination (LCD) for Molecular Testing for Solid Organ Allograft Rejection. The policy change, which takes effect July 6, 2021, will enable patients to benefit from Immucor’s kSORT, an innovative, non-invasive gene expression assay designed to better monitor and support the health of solid organ transplant recipients. kSORT is a 15-gene RNA expression-based assay designed for enhanced post-transplant graft surveillance and immune quiescence monitoring in solid organ transplant patients. Utilizing a proprietary algorithm, the kSORT assay evaluates the change in expression of specific genes, several of which are associated with pathways involved in immune activation. kSORT is available exclusively through Immucor DX, the company’s CLIA certified and CAP accredited independent clinical laboratory as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT). To learn more about kSORT visit https://ksort.immucor.com/
  • Present a Case Study at ASHI! Submit a case study to Immucor for a chance to present to a small audience of fellow laboratorians at our booth at ASHI! If your case study is selected, then Immucor will sponsor your partial travel expenses associated with attending ASHI as a speaker on Immucor’s behalf. All cases have the chance to be featured during Immucor's Virtual HLA Antibody Workshops! Send us any interesting or unique case studies you may have encountered. Have an antibody reacting “funny” or with unusual characteristics you would like us to present? Send it to us! All case studies will be anonymous and remember patient privacy regulations and to anonymize you submission. Contact your Immucor sales representative or marketinginformation@immucor.com to submit your case study today!
  • Immucor is now a preferred partner of PIRCHE! Immucor is committed to uncovering new frontiers in epitope matching. Immucor’s integration tool provides automated data transfer to the PIRCHE matching modules with a simple click of a button! Utilizing the PIRCHE service REST, PIRCHE scores are transferred back to the tool. To learn more about using PIRCHE with Immucor’s MATCH IT! Antibody Software or MIA FORA NGS software or to arrange a demo contact your local Immucor representative or visit us on www.immucor.com.
  • Immucor’s next generation of LIFECODES® Non-HLA Antibody kit is now available! See beyond the limits of your existing workflow and expand your testing capabilities with Immucor’s Non-HLA Antibody kit. We are proud to sponsor the Non-HLA project at the 18th International HLA & Immunogenetics Workshop May 2022 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Click here to see our new panel that now includes 28 new antigens for a total of 60! https://view.highspot.com/viewer/5fa955dd8117172260869a7f Join Immucor in a scientific partnership through LEAP, LIFECODES® Early Adopter Program. LEAP gives laboratories access to discounted LIFECODES® Non-HLA kits in exchange for data sharing. Collaborate with us to drive publications using the LIFECODES® Non-HLA Antibody kits!

Recently published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Bunnapradist, et al highlights Natera's latest innovation of utilizing absolute quantity of donor-derived cell-free DNA alongside the fraction of donor-derived cell-free DNA and total cell-free DNA to assess for rejection. Hear him speak on an upcoming webinar with ASTS on July 13th, Click here to RSVPClick here to access the Publication.  Now is your opportunity to hear the symposium sponsored by Natera at the recent ISHLT 2021 Annual Meeting: "Next Generation Non-Invasive cfDNA Technology for Assess Post Transplant Organ Health."  This symposium features Natera's founder and executive chairman, Matthew Rabinowitz, speaking about their experience with non-invasive, blood-based cell free DNA assays across specialties. There is also a lively debate between distinguished leaders in the heart transplant community, Dr. Shelley Hall and Dr. Eileen Hsich. They discuss the pros and cons of routine surveillance biopsies to detect rejection in heart transplant recipients. Click here to view the recording

Natera's Genetics in Fellowship Training (GIFT) is an educational program for transplant nephrology and general nephrology fellows to provide the latest information on donor-derived cfDNA testing and broad panel genetic testing. The program is unbranded and thus far, 17 programs have participated in the one-hour introductory presentation provided by one of our nephrologist medical directors. For more information or to schedule a presentation, contact nephfellows@natera.com.

Stay up to date on the latest information about genetics in nephrology through free CME-accredited learning modules. A series of modules below are available now with Neera K. Dahl, MD, as the Program Chair. Visit the Learning Center to start viewing. 

  • Module 1: Fundamentals of Genetic Medicine of Non-Geneticists - Melissa Stosic, MS, CGC
  • Module 2: Challenges and Opportunities in Kidney Genetics - Eric Wallace, MD
  • Module 3: Practical Applications of Genetic Testing in Nephrology - Moumita Baurua, MD
  • Module 4: Genetic Testing in FSGS and Nephrotic Syndrome - Martin Pollak, MD
  • Module 5: Genetics of Kidney Disease - Ali Gharavi, MD
  • Module 6: The Role of Genetic Testing in Kidney Transplant - Anil Chandraker, MD

Watch expert discussions on key topics in transplant with Sanofi’s ATC 2021 Virtual Connect Sessions

Did you catch the Sanofi Virtual Connect Sessions at ATC 2021? Whether you missed them or would like to watch them again, they are available at the Sanofi booth. These sessions highlight challenges and opportunities within kidney transplantation. From assessing the changing map of kidney allocation to discussing what’s next with COVID-19, the Sanofi Virtual Connect Sessions cover some of the hottest topics in the field.

Going the Distance:
The Changing Map of Kidney Allocation Dr John Friedewald joined Dr Jayme Locke and Dr Jesse Schold for an engaging discussion of the changing map of kidney allocation in the US COVID-19 Vaccines in Kidney Transplant Dr Dorry Segev moderated a lively Q&A session on COVID-19 vaccination in transplant patients

Visit the Sanofi booth to view these must-see sessions from ATC 2021 OnDemand

© 2021 sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC. All rights reserved. MAT-US-2104169-v1.0-06/2021​​

 

Check out all of our CAP partners: