2026 Kidney Research Meetings & PKD: What You Need to Know

Advancing research for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) requires collaboration across researchers, clinicians, industry, regulators, and the patient community. As a leader in the PKD community, the PKD Foundation shares its knowledge and learns from other organizations working in kidney research. Throughout fall 2026, we participated in several meetings that discussed research, clinical trials, drug development, and the needs of people living with PKD. These conversations strengthen collaboration and identify opportunities to move promising research forward.

Advancing New Treatments for Rare Kidney Diseases 

The Annual Rare and Genetic Kidney Disease Drug Development Summit is the only pharmaceutical-industry-focused forum dedicated to advancing therapies for rare and inherited renal diseases.  

Although the summit covered several genetic kidney diseases, PKD was a clear area of interest among industry participants. Discussions explored how patients can help shape drug development and clinical trial design. It also highlighted how the Foundation helps educate patients about clinical trials and ways we can support trial enrollment. Clinical trial awareness is an important step in advancing potential treatments from the lab to patients. 

Examples from other rare diseases also offered insights on how to overcome clinical trial design challenges for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). 

Exploring the Future of Pediatric ADPKD Research 

On PKD Awareness Day, Advancing Frontiers in Early-Stage ADPKD was a PKD-specific symposium focused on advances in understanding and treating pediatric patients and young adults with ADPKD. 

A key focus was the global effort to combine de-identified ADPKD patient data from children and young adults to develop predictive models. For example, a model like the Mayo Imaging Classification used in adults. It uses kidney size and imaging results to help predict the risk of disease progression over time. Through these models, researchers could better understand how the disease progresses in younger patients. Importantly, it would bring us closer to designing clinical trials for early-onset PKD. 

Attendees at the 10th Anniversary Symposium of the ADPedKD Registry and the first-ever PKD International Global Members Meeting and Patient Voice Day.

Centering the PKD Patient Voice Across the Globe 

Immediately following the symposium was PKD International’s Patient Voice Day on September 5. As research advances and approaches to care evolve, keeping the patient perspective in mind is essential. This patient-led workshop brought together people from around the world. Participants shared their experiences, identified unmet needs, and discussed priorities for the future of the global PKD community. Expanding access to genetic testing while protecting people from potential insurance or workplace discrimination was an important topic.  

Strengthening Clinical Trials and PKD Research 

When it comes to furthering PKD research, our collaboration with the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is important. You may remember our involvement with C-Path from last year’s blog post. At their 2026 Global Collaboration and Innovation Conference in September, conversations about improving clinical research and drug development for PKD continued. 

This year, Chris Chen, Ph.D., the PKD Foundation’s vice president of research programs, was invited to speak. Dr. Chen highlighted the Foundation’s role in broader efforts to advance PKD clinical research. This included our co-funding of the PKD TRxA Accelerator grant—a valuable tool in helping keep research out of the “Valley of Death.”

The “Valley of Death” is the critical gap between early research and the investment needed to turn it into new treatments. Through the TRxA Grant, recipients will receive the funding, regulatory expertise, and strategic guidance needed to move PKD therapies forward. 

Third Therapeutics Symposium by the Transformative Center for Nanomedicine  

The Foundation’s work to advance PKD therapeutics continued into October. Hosted by the University of Southern California’s Transformative Center for Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery, their third annual symposium brought another opportunity to highlight PKD research. This year’s symposium focused on therapeutics, gene delivery, and AI.

PKD Foundation Vice President of Research Programs Chris Chen, Ph.D., giving his presentation, “Past, Present, and Future Roles of the PKD Foundation in Accelerating Cures,” at the third annual Therapeutics Symposium.

In his presentation, “Past, Present, and Future Roles of the PKD Foundation in Accelerating Cures,” Dr. Chen explained how the Foundation’s role continues to evolve, particularly amid an unprecedented era of clinical trials for PKD.  

American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week Conference

Held October 21-25 in Denver, Colorado, this year’s American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week Conference had an increased focus on PKD.  There were seven full-day early educational programs at ASN, and two were highly relevant to PKD research: “Targeting Therapeutics to the Kidneys” and “ADPKD: 2026 Clinical Updates.”

During the conference, there were also entire sessions dedicated to ADPKD. This included presentations like “Genetic Diseases with a Focus on ADPKD Mechanisms, Models, and Medicines” and “Precision Medicine for ADPKD.” Additionally, results from two clinical trials were presented, including a Phase 2 study on the impact of an SGLT2 inhibitor in patients with ADPKD, which was largely funded by the PKD Foundation.

Beyond attending expert-led sessions, the Foundation connected with 14 industry partners to learn about their work on potential therapies for PKD.

2024-2026 PKD Foundation Grant Awardee Brittany Lasseigne, Ph.D., presents her poster about the Research Resource Consortium DataHub project at the 2026 American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week Conference.

What Does the Future Look Like for PKD Research?

From research and drug development to clinical trials and patient engagement, these kidney meetings reflect the many efforts required to progress PKD research. It means consistent collaboration with experts, industry, and the people affected by PKD. At the PKD Foundation, we’ll continue to help build and sustain those connections and drive the discovery of new treatment options. 

Stay Connected with PKD Research 

Want to keep up with the latest advances in PKD research and kidney disease news?  

• Sign up for PKD News to get important news and information from the PKD Foundation. 

• Join us for Understanding PAPP-A Clinical Trials in ADPKD, a webinar about the emerging PAPP-A treatment pathway and the clinical research exploring its potential role in ADPKD. 

• Explore research funded by the PKD Foundation to learn what’s happening in PKD science today. 
• Sign up for clinical trial alerts through our Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Alert program! You’ll get emails when an ADPKD or ARPKD clinical trial is looking for participants.