NKF Innovation Fund: developing new treatments for kidney patients

For far too long treatments for CKD haven’t changed. Launched in 2021, the NKF Innovation Fund works to accelerate funding, and development of therapies that kidney patients deserve. On this episode, you will hear from NKF CEO Kevin Longino interviews Kathleen St. Jean, Chief Commercial Officer of 34 Lives, one of the first recipients of a significant investment from NKF’s Innovation Fund to help further develop a new technology to rehabilitate donated kidneys for transplantation.

 

Kathleen St. Jean

Kathleen’s background makes her uniquely suited to lead the team at 34 Lives with CEO Chris Jaynes. She began her career at Merck & Co., Inc., with a number of leadership roles in Sales, Professional Learning & Development and Customer Strategy. She was known for her creativity, forward thinking and passion to always put customers and patients first. In her last role at Merck, Kathleen served as sales lead for the commercialization of two adherence software products with a goal of improving health outcomes.In Phase Two of her career, Kathleen served as Director of Business Development for Imedex and Executive VP at SeaStar Medical. The latter focused on therapies designed to reduce the consequences of excessive inflammation on vital organs. Kathleen and Chris worked together at both companies and decided to combine their knowledge of healthcare and interest in transplantation into solving the current organ transplant crisis in the US. They founded 34 Lives (formerly Renovera) in March 2021 as a Public Benefit Company (PBC) to serve and honor organ donors, recipients and those who care for them.

Kevin Longino

Kevin Longino has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Kidney Foundation since 2015. He first became involved with the organization in 2008 as a volunteer advocate, and in 2012 he joined the national Board of Directors. As CEO, Kevin leads a team headquartered in New York, NY, and field offices around the country. NKF is supported by thousands of volunteers nationwide and serves millions of patients and healthcare providers seeking support and education every year. In 2004, Kevin received a life-saving kidney transplant after at-home peritoneal dialysis and is now 19 years “kidney strong”. He readily shares his story and uses his experience to help other kidney disease patients.

 

Additional Resources:

NKF Innovation Fund 

 

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