Alabama Researchers Unlock 3 New Treatments for Rare Kidney Disease

For years, getting diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in your 20s or 30s meant hearing devastating news: you'd likely need dialysis in your lifetime, and doctors had few tools to help.

That reality just changed completely. Within three years, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have helped bring three separate FDA-approved treatments to patients who previously had almost no options.

Dr. Dana Rizk, a nephrology professor at UAB, co-led four pivotal clinical trials that transformed treatment for this autoimmune kidney disease. IgA nephropathy affects around 200,000 Americans and millions worldwide when immune complexes get trapped in the kidney's filtering units, causing damage that often goes undetected for years.

"I am privileged and lucky to be here and live through this revolution," Rizk said. "It is a wonderful feeling to be able to see a patient in clinic and say, 'We have several treatment options for you.'"

The breakthrough came from two key developments. First, years of basic research at UAB and elsewhere identified the molecular pathways behind the disease, giving pharmaceutical companies clear targets. Second, the FDA partnered with the American Society of Nephrology to redesign how kidney disease trials work.

Traditional trials waited for patients to need dialysis, transplants, or die, which took years and discouraged pharmaceutical investment. The new approach lets drugs win approval based on reducing protein in urine, a proven early indicator of kidney function preservation.

Between 2024 and 2026, three major drugs received accelerated FDA approval. Fabhalta reduced protein in urine by 38 percent and cut kidney function loss roughly in half. Voyxact reduced it by 50 percent. Trutakna showed a 46 percent reduction.

The Ripple Effect

These treatments aren't cures, but delaying dialysis by 10 or 20 years transforms lives and reduces healthcare costs dramatically. Young patients who once faced dialysis in their 40s might now avoid it until their 60s or beyond.

The new trial model is already spreading to other rare kidney diseases, proving that innovative research partnerships can overcome obstacles that stalled progress for decades. Researchers are now testing these drugs in children with IgA nephropathy, who currently have no good treatment options, and exploring applications for other autoimmune conditions.

UAB's pioneering role in IgA nephropathy research, built through years of collaboration between its nephrology and microbiology departments, positioned the university to lead this medical revolution. The work has produced multiple papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and opened doors for thousands of patients who had run out of hope.

Rizk and her colleagues completely upended clinical trial models for rare diseases, showing that patience, partnership, and persistence can deliver breakthrough treatments even when the path forward seems impossible.