The NURTuRE-CKD biobank project has hit its recruitment target of 3,000 people in the UK.
NURTuRE is the first unique biobank for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) across England, Scotland and Wales. It is backed by Kidney Research UK and will provide a vital resource for researchers and industry partners to unlock some of the mysteries surrounding kidney disease and help us discover new treatments, faster.
The last few patients needed to reach 3,000 were recruited in August. In total, 15 hospitals have been involved in the NURTuRE-CKD project over the past two years with 376 patients at Salford Royal taking part, making it one of the leading recruiters to the biobank.
NURTuRE also plans to collect samples from 800 people with INS.
Each person who takes part gives samples, including blood and urine, and consent to their anonymised clinical information being held in the NURTuRE biobank.
Fantastic achievement
Salford Royal Principal Clinical Research Lead Professor Phil Kalra (pictured) said: “The NURTuRE cohort is one of the largest cohorts of chronic kidney disease patients in the world. 3,000 UK patients have consented for future analysis of their anonymised data and blood, urine and genetic samples, and we are delighted that 376 of our patients managed via Salford Royal renal clinics have contributed. The study presents an enormous opportunity for research into the causes of kidney diseases and risk factors for complications, and the potential for collaboration with academic and industry partners will enable a strengthening of the UK renal research infrastructure for years to come.”
Maarten Taal, Professor of Medicine at the University of Nottingham and Consultant Nephrologist at the Royal Derby Hospital, who jointly leads the project said: “NURTuRE is an exciting project that will accelerate much needed research into kidney disease in the UK. This is a fantastic achievement and really something to be celebrated by everyone involved”.
“We are extremely thankful for the effort that has been made by staff at all the hospitals involved in recruitment and very grateful to the patients who have agreed to take part. Our task now is to encourage the 3,000 participants to continue to work with us and attend their follow-up appointment so that we can obtain further samples needed to complete the study.”
Uniquely, any researcher accessing the samples will be required to contribute their research findings back into a central repository after publication which will enrich the information available and ultimately speed up the progress of renal research.
We need your help
We are still recruiting people across the UK to the NURTuRE-INS (NephroS) biobank. If you are a kidney patient with nephrotic syndrome in one of the participating hospitals, you may be able to be part of this exciting project.
The NURTuRE project is being jointly delivered through the University of Nottingham and the University of Bristol. The biobank is funded by AbbVie Inc, AstraZeneca, Evotec AV, Retrophin, UCB Celltech Biopharma and Kidney Research UK.