A new antibody calmed the signal driving diabetic kidney disease — half the patients responded

In diabetic kidney disease, a protein system called suPAR/uPAR goes into overdrive and scars the kidneys' filters, leaking protein into urine — an early sign of decline. Walden Biosciences, a Cambridge, Massachusetts company, has reported the first clinical results for WAL0921, an antibody designed to block that pathological activity. In the Phase 2 diabetic kidney disease group, six of twelve evaluable patients saw their protein leakage fall by more than 20% after seven doses over twelve weeks, with a median reduction of 32.4% among responders; earlier Phase 1 work showed the drug was safe and well tolerated and lowered suPAR levels as designed. It is early and the group is small — results for three further kidney diseases are still to come — but it is the first proof in patients that this long-suspected driver can be switched down.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation