Partner's Blog - October 2020

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 our Fellows Symposium online on September 24^th and 25^th, and the Cutting Edge of Transplantation (CEoT) meeting from February 25^th to the 27^th in 2021. 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 is launching is an online forum where our Corporate partners will be able to offer educational resources to AST members. The forum, formally called the AST Partner Connect, will allow 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. Look for more launch information of the AST Partner Connect in the following months.

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

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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 2020 Corporate Affiliate Program (CAP):

What's News With Our Partners:

On Saturday, 9/26 CareDx held our AlloCare Transplant Festival, a fun, interactive, virtual event with over 2,500 registrants from the transplant community! The lineup included trivia with Amanda Nicastro, a comedian and living donor, performances by kidney recipient and America’s Got Talent runner-up (2017), Angelica Hale, and a transplant athlete sports panel with special guests: John Brockington (Former Packers), David Ayres (Winning goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes), and Sean Elliott (Former Spurs). And much more! Check out videos from the full program here, and download the AlloCare app, available in the Apple App Store!
Transplantation Direct published “Donor-derived Cell-free DNA Combined With Histology Improves Prediction of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate Over Time in Kidney Transplant Recipients Compared With Histology Alone.” Dr. Edmund Huang et al. concluded that the addition of AlloSure to Banff biopsy scores provided better prognostic assessment over biopsy characteristics alone. For the full publication, please click here.
Transplantation Proceedings published “Use of Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA for Assessment of Allograft Injury in Kidney Transplant Recipients During the Time of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.” Dr. Neetika Garg et al. concluded that “In the event COVID-19 becomes a long-term challenge for our community, noninvasive biomarkers such as [AlloSure] dd-cfDNA may become more relevant than ever in enhancing our ability to care for our transplant patients while maximizing the distancing measures.” For the full publication, please click here.
More than 150 centers use RemoTraC – CareDx’s home-based blood draw service for transplant patients. For more information contact remotrac@caredx.com.

Hansa Biopharma receives positive CHMP opinion for imlifidase for kidney transplant in EU. On June 25, 2020, Hansa Biopharma announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion, recommending conditional approval of imlifidase for the desensitization treatment of highly sensitized adult kidney transplant patients with a positive crossmatch against an available deceased donor. The European Commission is expected to adopt a related decision during the third quarter of 2020.
In the US, following overall agreement with the FDA, Hansa Biopharma submitted a study protocol to the FDA on June 17, 2020. The randomized, controlled clinical study is planned to be initiated in fourth quarter this year and could support a future BLA submission in the US by 2023. The planned recruitment for this study is 45 highly sensitized patients at 10-15 transplant centers in the US.
The American Journal of Transplantation published “Desensitization using imlifidase and EndoS enables chimerism induction in allosensitized recipient mice” (Lin, et al). The authors concluded that enzymatic inactivation of donor specific antibody, using imlifidase and endoglycosidase of Streptococcus pyogenes (EndoS), in combination with other desensitization strategies, allowed allogeneic bone marrow engraftment in allosensitized recipient mice. For the full publication, please click here.

Natera announced an expansive program to improve care for organ transplant patients with a history of cancer, using the Signatera™ test for molecular residual disease (MRD) assessment pre- and post-transplant, in combination with the Prospera™ test for transplant rejection assessment. The goal of the program is to understand how the Signatera and Prospera tests can be used to improve decision making at the complex intersection of organ transplantation and oncology, and respond to the unmet needs within these communities. Read More
Natera is sponsoring an ASTS educational webinar featuring renowned transplant nephrologist Dr. Christopher Blosser from the University of Washington, titled Progress and Promise in Transplant Oncology: A New Paradigm. It will be held on Sep 30, 2020 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET. Registration is free Read More
Natera will be presenting the following new data at this year’s ASN Kidney Week Reimagined, to support integrating leading-edge DNA technology into kidney care: ○ Industry symposium: Discover the Genetic Etiology of Kidney Disease with Renasight featuring experts Drs. Wayne Kotzker, David Pai, Neil Kumar, and John Diamond
- PO1657: Perceived clinical utility and barriers to genetic testing in the adult chronic kidney disease population: a survey of general nephrologists
- PO0792: Case Study: Kidney transplant patient with COVID-19: Impact of viral infection on background cell-free DNA in a donor-derived cell-free DNA rejection assay
- PO2398: Case Series: Systemic infection alters background cell-free DNA and influences results of donor-derived cell-free DNA transplant rejection assays
- PO2394: Development and Clinical Experience with a cfDNA Monitoring Algorithm for Kidney Retransplants
Natera is partnering with the George Lopez Foundation to raise awareness on kidney disease and supporting kidney patients in financial need during this pandemic. Be on the lookout for golf “trick shots” posted under #GLFTrickShot, #KidneyHealth on all social media platforms!
Natera's new Genetics in Fellowship Training (GIFT) Program offers complimentary, comprehensive educational opportunities focused on genetic testing and technology relevant to the transplant and nephrology fellows community. Fellows will be prepared to become tomorrow's transplant nephrologists with in-depth knowledge of leveraging DNA insights to better manage renal health. Enroll your fellowship program into GIFT at nephfellow@natera.com.

Recent Publications: In a new paper on “Analysis of RNA Transcripts by the Molecular Microscope Diagnostic System (MMDx) Can Direct Management after Indication Kidney Transplant Biopsy,” Drs. Chris Lawrence, the Director of Medical Affairs for Transplant Diagnostics at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Sarah Fluck, et al, explore 2 case studies where clinical decision making was impacted by the use of the Molecular Microscope® Diagnostic System (MMDx). In both cases MMDx offered certainty when traditional pathology did not and showed its potential as a tool to better guide treatment. Read More
Missed a previous MMDx Webinar? Shedding Light on the Heart Transplant Biopsy: Use of Intragraft mRNA Transcripts Dr. Jon A. Kobashigawa with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Debbie Rinde-Hoffman of the TGH Transplant Institute introduced the Molecular Microscope® Diagnostic System (MMDx) as a tool for the assessment of heart transplant biopsies. The talk also explored how precise and objective data generated by MMDx allows for more personalized post-transplant management. View the presentation

As your trusted partner in transplantation, Sanofi would like to remind you that flu season is fast approaching and, due to COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to protect your patients from influenza. We are a global healthcare company that is focused on several therapeutic areas including vaccines so we would like to share resources we developed that you may find helpful to raise awareness about flu with your patients and in your community. Visit here to get more information: Vaccineshoppe.

Visit the Veloxis Pharmaceuticals LinkedIn page to hear from Veloxis Patient Ambassadors about their experiences as kidney transplant recipients during these challenging times. Veloxis Pharmaceuticals remains committed to supporting members of the transplant community, and the continued health and safety of kidney transplant patients like these and others.
Click here to view the on-demand webinar Optimizing Long-term Care for Renal Transplant Recipients presented by Dr. Jason Wellen. The aim of this program is to engage renal care specialists in a dynamic case-based discussion of long-term care in kidney transplantation. Dr. Wellen will explore evolving treatment paradigms, which may help inform care optimization, including strategies for long-term immunosuppressive therapy.

Eurofins Transplant Diagnostics continues to develop a long-term data study utilizing TruGraf® Read More
TGI and Viracor Announce Transplant Advisory Board, to focus on trends and innovations in transplant diagnostics Read More

Check out all of our CAP partners: