Published in the peer-reviewed journal of the National Kidney Foundation, Kidney Medicine (December 2024), this meta-analysis led by Dr. Matthew T. James and colleagues systematically reviewed human clinical data evaluating cilastatin’s nephroprotective effects in people at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI).

The study reinforces the clinical relevance of cilastatin, a well-established inhibitor of renal dipeptidase-1 (DPEP1), demonstrating a strong human safety profile and consistent protection against AKI across diverse patient populations.

Abstract

The analysis included more than 1,500 participants from multiple randomized and observational studies involving high-risk clinical settings, including antibiotic-, chemotherapy-, and contrast-associated kidney injury.

Cilastatin treatment was associated with up to a 74% lower risk of AKI, underscoring its potential as a nephroprotective therapy for patients exposed to nephrotoxic drugs or procedures.

Dr. James MD PhD (University of Calgary), who also ...

Published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), this abstract reports on new research led by Dr. Justin Chun and collaborators that identifies interleukin-32 (IL-32) as a key mediator of diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The findings provide the scientific foundation for Arch Biopartners’ new CKD platform, expanding the Company’s kidney therapeutics pipeline beyond acute injury to chronic disease.

Overview

The research published in JASN shows that the inflammatory protein IL-32 localizes to lipid droplets in kidney tubular cells, where it drives mitochondrial dysfunction contributing to injury in DKD. This is the first evidence that lipid droplets function as inflammatory platforms linking metabolic stress to progressive kidney damage.

In preclinical models, blocking IL-32 reduced tubular injury, while treatment with the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin lowered IL-32 expression, underscoring the immediate clinical relevance of ...

Published in the peer reviewed journal BMJ Open (March 2024, Vol 14, Issue 3), this paper by key members of the Arch Biopartners scientific team, led by Dr. Daniel Muruve at the University of Calgary, and their collaborators, describes the clinical highlights, outcomes and biomarker results of the study.

The results of the Phase II trial provided first-ever evidence validating Dipeptidase-1 (DPEP1) as a mediator of organ inflammation and therapeutic target in humans. In addition, LSALT peptide was well tolerated with no safety issues related to the drug.

The Phase II trial was an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof of concept study of LSALT peptide for the prevention of organ inflammation such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalised patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The exploratory, adaptive trial was initiated in the early stages of the global pandemic to ...