SILVER SPRING, MD – The National Medical Association announces support from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to increase awareness and education on APOL1-mediated kidney disease in African American communities.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has awarded $198,000 to the National Medical Association to raise patient and public awareness and understanding of APOL1-meditated kidney disease. APOL1-mediated kidney disease is a kidney disorder associated with certain genetic mutations. The disease can lead to kidney cell injury, cell death, and damage to the glomeruli (which filter blood in the kidney), leading to abnormal amounts of protein in the urine (proteinuria). Altogether, this decreases the ability of the kidney to function.
The grant provides funding to address the knowledge gaps about APOL1-mediated kidney disease by providing access to a comprehensive kidney-care education program to patient networks and healthcare providers, especially those committed to providing health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment.
APOL1 genetic variants account for much of the excess risk of chronic and end stage kidney disease of people of African and Caribbean descent. One key challenge of APOL1-mediated kidney disease is that most people living with this disease do not even know they have it until it is significantly advanced. “Raising awareness of APOL1-associated kidney disease through education and emphasizing the importance of genetic testing and early diagnosis is crucial to addressing this important contributor to racial disparities in kidney disease. We are very grateful for Vertex’s support,” said Joy D. Calloway, MBA, MHSA, NMA’s executive director.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on researching and discovering potential medicines aimed at treating the underlying cause of APOL1-mediated kidney disease. In 2010, scientists discovered that people who inherit two mutations in the APOL1 gene are at significantly increased risk of developing kidney disease. Research has also shown that the course of kidney disease is more rapidly progressive in patients with two APOL1 genetic mutations than in patients without two mutations. That insight led Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to work to invent new investigational medicines to target the underlying cause of APOL1-mediated kidney disease.
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“The NMA promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African Descent. We carry out this mission by serving as the collective voice of physicians of African Descent and a leading voice for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities and promotion of optimal health.“
Garfield Clunie, MD Contact: Michael Peery
President (312) 217-2260
