Boehringer, Michigan of to study mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy in Pima Indians

In an effort to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from this debilitating disorder, a research team of investigators at Boehringer Ingelheim, the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota and the intermural research branch of the National Institute of Health in Phoenix will seek to elucidate mechanisms that are likely to be drivers of diabetic nephropathy.

he unique research design consists of more than 10 years of prospective evaluation of the Pima Indian patient population, a population known for its propensity to develop diabetes and subsequently nephropathy. The research team will examine the phenotypic and molecular states before and after the onset of renal damage in the context of diabetes.

The project will elucidate the altered molecular networks in the early and later stages of diabetic nephropathy and will identify new mechanistic entry points for drug discovery.

"We are very much looking forward to working with Dr. Kretzler and his co-collaborators as part of this joint research program," said Dr. Michel Pairet, Senior Corporate Vice President of Research and Non-clinical Development at Boehringer Ingelheim.

"This longitudinal study of human diabetic nephropathy will provide researchers with valuable scientific insights into the underlying mechanisms of this devastating disease and reaffirms our commitment in the area of cardiometabolic diseases."

"Addressing the early mechanisms of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy and how they progress to renal failure will allow our teams to look for novel targeted therapies in diabetic nephropathy, urgently needed to slowing or halting the progression of this devastating disease," says Matthias Kretzler, M.D., professor of internal medicine and nephrologist at the University of Michigan Health System.

Further details of the agreement and financial terms are not disclosed.