Industry Symposium 30

Session Title: Conquering Kidney Disease: Strategies, Evidence, and Innovations Worldwide
Organized by: AstraZeneca K.K.

Session Description:
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects more than 850 million people worldwide, including an estimated 20 million in Japan. Developing effective strategies to prevent CKD progression is an urgent priority. The DAPA-CKD trial, published in 2020, was a landmark study demonstrating that dapagliflozin significantly reduced the risks of kidney failure, sustained eGFR decline, and mortality—even in patients without diabetes. Regarding safety in the dapagliflozin group, serious adverse events occurred in 27.6%, discontinuations due to adverse events in 5.5%, deaths in 3.1%, and the main adverse event was volume depletion.
This breakthrough provided clinicians with a truly disease-modifying therapy for both diabetic and non-diabetic CKD.
Over the past four years, extensive real-world experience has accumulated in Japan. We have learned which patient groups derive the greatest benefit, how to optimize safety, and how best to integrate SGLT2 inhibitors into routine CKD care. Meanwhile, new therapies for rare kidney diseases—including IgA nephropathy—are rapidly emerging, expanding the therapeutic landscape.
These developments underscore the need for nephrologists to focus increasingly on the diagnosis and management of rare kidney diseases. At the same time, the growing CKD population indicates that primary care physicians will play a central role in CKD management. Preparation for this transition is already underway. In this presentation, I will discuss how insights from DAPA-CKD can guide global strategies for future CKD care.

Learning Objectives:
To advance efforts toward conquering kidney disease, this session aims to provide a clear understanding of the current global and national landscape of CKD, identify the key challenges that health systems face, and highlight the critical need for coordinated care. At this pivotal moment in CKD management—marked by emerging therapies, evolving evidence, and an expanding patient population—we will examine how responsibilities can be optimally shared between primary care physicians and nephrologists. Through case examples and lessons learned, including experiences from Japan, the session will derive practical and actionable insights to support the effective implementation of integrated CKD care worldwide.