Why We Exist
The Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) is a public–private partnership among the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and more than 70 member companies and organizations, united in catalyzing innovation and advancing safe, effective, patient-centered therapies for people with kidney diseases. This mission is urgent: the global burden of kidney diseases is rising rapidly, with chronic kidney disease (CKD) projected to become the fifth leading cause of years of life lost worldwide by 2040. As diabetes and hypertension—the two primary risk factors—continue to increase across the globe, kidney diseases remain a serious and under-recognized public health epidemic.
Understanding Kidney Disease
The global burden of kidney diseases is increasing, with CKD projected to become the fifth most common cause of years of life lost globally by 2040. With the chief risk factors—diabetes and hypertension—on the rise throughout the world, kidney diseases are a serious and under-recognized worldwide epidemic.
Our Mission
- Amplifies patient and care partner voices to focus kidney innovators on priorities sought by people with kidney diseases.
- Identifies and reduces barriers for developing innovative drugs, devices, and biologics therapies for kidney diseases.
- Promotes collaborations that catalyze development of safe and effective therapies.
- Develops resources that advance research and regulatory decision-making such as patient preferences and reported outcome measurements, surrogate endpoint evaluations, and technology and collaboration roadmaps.
- Leads projects that direct and communicate consensus by, and for, the kidney community through widely shared resources.
- Leads focused discussions that define pre-competitive challenges to frame, communicate, and pursue collaborative solutions.
- Pursues partnerships with strategically aligned organizations to produce a unique resource created with expertise and perspectives of a broader community.
- Supports collaborations led by other kidney-focused organizations through the sharing of KHI’s infrastructure and expert communities.
- Monitors an expanding kidney innovation community to report progress or evaluate opportunities where KHI and others can further collaborations.