FDA Awards UNC Researcher $2M Grant to Study Kidney Disease in Sickle Cell Anemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded Dr. Kenneth Ataga, a $2 million grant over five years to support a prospective study in sickle cell anemia to determine biomarkers of specific cellular function changes in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Ataga, a researcher with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published the results of a Phase 2 SUSTAIN clinical trial (NCT01895361) in December 2016. The trial demonstrated that the anti-P-selectin antibody crizanlizumab (SEG101), developed by Selexys Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, reduced the median annual rate of sickle cell-related pain crises by 45.3 percent, when compared to placebo.