2025 advancements in kidney disease research and treatment

In 2025, researchers and clinicians (like me) continued working hard to better understand kidney disease and how to improve life for those living with the chronic illness. In the potentially overwhelming news cycle, though, you may have missed some of the exciting breakthroughs from the past year. For those who may not be as tuned into the nephrology (kidney) research news, here is a roundup of some of the biggest headlines from 2025! 

1. Progress for xenotransplantation

At the start of the year, two companies received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials transplanting genetically modified pig kidneys into patients with kidney failure. These clinical trials, which began later in 2025, marked a big step forward in xenotransplantation (transplanting organs or tissues from one species into another). The studies aim to see how well the pig kidneys work and how safe they are for human patients. 

These are the first clinical trials for pig kidneys and will enable researchers to learn more about how to make this treatment option work for more patients. Already, researchers at NYU Langone — one of the hospitals conducting the clinical trials — have discovered immune reactions that may explain why the pig kidneys are being rejected.

In 2023, a pig kidney was transplanted into a brain-dead patient and three patients received pig kidneys in 2024 — including Towana Looney. In 2025, Tim Andrews lived with a pig kidney for 271 days before it had to be removed. 

2. Promising results in the effort to eliminate the need for immunosuppressant medicines for transplant recipients

For people living with a kidney transplant, immunosuppressants are currently a necessary part of the treatment. Unfortunately, immunosuppressants often come with new challenges to navigate, including side effects, strict adherence to your medication schedule, cost and access. That is why researchers are working to find a way to eliminate the need for immunosuppressants, and in 2025 researchers from the Mayo Clinic published promising results of a new therapy in the American Journal of Transplantation. 

In a clinical trial with participants from multiple hospitals, the study tested whether people who received a kidney transplant and received a stem cell transplant at the same time could stop using immunosuppressants after a year. The findings were encouraging. Of the 20 participants, 19 were able to stop using immunosuppressant medicines after one year. Additionally, 15 (75%) trial participants were able to stop taking medicine for more than two years. 

3. First human trial results show enzyme technology could enable universal donor organs

In October, scientists published a paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering that showed how they successfully transplanted a kidney that had its blood type changed through a special enzyme they had developed. An enzyme is a substance that helps create a biochemical reaction — in this case changing the blood type. The enzyme-converted kidney was placed in a brain-dead patient (with family consent) and worked for two days before showing any signs of rejection. When signs did start on the third day, they were much more mild than usual.

This transplant was the result of over a decade of work and is an important step toward removing barriers to kidney transplants. Right now, if you need an organ transplant, your transplant team needs to make sure the new organ comes from someone whose blood type works with your blood type to lower the chances of your body rejecting the transplant. If blood types could be changed to work with the recipient's blood type, it could create more potential donors for people who need any organ. 

4. FDA approved semaglutide to treat kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes

In January 2025, the FDA approved an injectable form of semaglutide (Ozempic), a GLP1-RA, to treat chronic kidney disease (CKD) in people with type 2 diabetes. Approval of this medicine is significant for those with CKD and type 2 diabetes, as it offers additional support to manage both conditions. In 2024, a clinical trial showed how semaglutide could help slow progression of kidney disease and reduce the risk of death from kidney disease or heart disease for people living with diabetic kidney disease. 

5. Progress in glomerular disease research and treatment

Glomerular diseases are diseases that affect the glomeruli, which help the kidneys filter toxins out of your blood. Some glomerular diseases include C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), lupus nephritis and IgA nephropathy (IgAN), all of which had big headlines for research and treatment in 2025. 

The FDA approved two drugs for treating C3G, iptacopan and pegcetacoplan, the first treatments ever for this rare kidney disease. Both drugs reduce proteinuria in C3G patients, but pegcetacoplan was also approved as a treatment for another rare kidney disease called primary immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN).

The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) announced new guidelines for the management of IgAN, which provide doctors "with the most up-to-date recommendations for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment." There were also two significant updates in the treatment of IgAN with the FDA approval of atrasentan, which reduces proteinuria in IgAN patients, and positive Phase 3 trial results for another treatment called sibeprenlimab, which reduced proteinuria by over 50% over 9 months. 

Finally, the FDA approved obintizumab for adult patients with lupus nephritis. Obintizumab helps to reduce disease-causing B cells, which cause damage to the kidneys, and delay the progression of CKD to kidney failure. 

6. Researchers create most complete genetic map tied to kidney disease

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania published an article in Science in February 2025 that included "the most complete and detailed genetic 'map' of kidney function to date." The "map" includes more than 1,000 genes that impact kidney function. Using this map could help doctors better diagnose the cause of someone's kidney disease and then use more targeted, individualized treatments for it (which is called precision medicine). The co-senior author of the article explained that they studied "close to 1,000 human kidney samples and hundreds of thousands of kidney cells one by one." 

7. AI models improve prediction of chronic kidney disease progression to end stage renal disease

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being integrated into so many aspects of our lives and the nephrology field is no exception. A study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University showed how machine learning, deep learning models and AI could help doctors better predict the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease (ESRD and kidney failure). This could, in turn, help with disease management, targeted treatments or interventions and/or reduce health care disparities. Another study from Stanford University also found that AI could help reduce organ waste for liver transplants. According to The Guardian, "The AI tool outperformed the judgment of top surgeons and reduced the rate of futile procurements – which occur when transplant preparations have begun but the donor dies too late – by 60%." These are just two recent studies, but there are several ongoing studies researching the role of AI in medicine, including nephrology.

8. Impact of smartphone-enabled home urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio testing on albuminuria screening and management

A study published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease looked at a way that our smartphones can be used to help screen for or track kidney disease progression. A smartphone-enabled albuminuria (or proteinuria) test allowed people with hypertension or diabetes screen for kidney disease at home. The results of the study showed that this was a great way to increase screening for albuminuria (protein in the urine) in these at-risk populations, with 53% of the people with access to the at-home test completing an albuminuria test versus 21% in the group that did not have the at-home test. This could be an effective way to increase screening and early intervention for kidney disease in high-risk populations.  

Each of these advancements holds great promise for improving the lives of people living with kidney disease or kidney failure. We hope to see continued growth in all of these areas in 2026!