Invizius Announces Appointment of Peter Stenvinkel, Professor of Nephrology at Karolinska Institutet, to the Clinical Advisory Board

World leading expert and key opinion leader in nephrology

GLASGOW, Scotland, July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Invizius Limited ("Invizius"), a biotechnology company developing treatments to suppress unwanted immune responses in haemodialysis, is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Peter Stenvinkel to its Clinical Advisory Board. Professor Stenvinkel is a world-renowned expert senior lecturer at Karolinska University Hospital and Professor of Nephrology at Karolinska Institutet (KI), Stockholm, Sweden.

Invizius is developing its H-Guard® Haemodialysis Priming Solution which comprises a novel protein that lines the inside of the dialysis filter and helps dialysis to take place undetected by the body's immune system. This suppresses the blood's foreign body response preventing a repetitive, hostile inflammatory reaction that increases the risk of cardiovascular and other complications.

A leading expert in the field of nephrology, Prof Stenvinkel has over 610 original publications and reviews and more than 30 book chapters on various aspects of inflammation, wasting and metabolism in chronic kidney disease patients (CKD). He has given more than 400 invited lectures at various international meetings and congresses in more than 30 different countries. He conducts translational research with a focus on risk factors for metabolic, cardiovascular and nutritional complications in CKD. Prof Stenvinkel has been on the Scientific Advisory Boards of AstraZeneca, Baxter, Fresenius Medical Care, Reata Pharmaceuticals and Vifor Pharma.

Richard Boyd, Chief Executive Officer of Invizius, said: "Prof Stenvinkel is one of the world's foremost authorities in nephrology and is focused on the translation of novel approaches into impactful treatments for renal patients. We are very privileged to have him join our Clinical Advisory Board. His expertise is particularly relevant to the work we are doing at Invizius and we look forward to his invaluable contributions as we accelerate the development of our programmes."

Prof Stenvinkel, Senior lecturer at Karolinska University Hospital and Professor of Nephrology at Karolinska Institutet, added: "Invizius has been founded on world-class research and I am very impressed by its H-Guard technology which has the potential to improve quality of life and safety of patients on dialysis. I am very pleased to begin working with the talented team developing novel and improved therapeutic approaches to improve the quality of life for this expanding patient group."

Prof Stenvinkel joins Invizius' Clinical & Scientific Advisors, Professor Sandip Mitra (Manchester Royal Infirmary), and Professor Paul Barlow (University of Edinburgh).

Invizius recently announced it had been awarded two Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst Grants to bring anti-inflammatory haemodialysis treatment to the clinic and to research peritoneal dialysis indication for its H-Guard® technology.

About Invizius

Invizius Limited is a late pre-clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments to suppress unwanted immune responses, focused initially on reducing the life-threatening inflammatory effects of dialysis. Founded in 2017, the University of Edinburgh spin-out is developing its proprietary H-Guard® Priming Solution, comprising a novel protein that lines the inside of the dialysis filter and helps dialysis to take place undetected by the body's immune system. This suppresses the blood's foreign body response, thereby preventing a hostile inflammatory reaction. The technology can also be used with other devices or treatments such as continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), cardiopulmonary bypass, organ transplants and immunomodulating therapeutics. The company is looking to expand its product pipeline into other, high-value indications.

Invizius is supported by a strong syndicate of investors including Mercia, Downing Ventures, Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise, Solvay Ventures, Calculus Capital and experienced life science entrepreneur and investor, Dr Jonathan Milner.

For more information on Invizius, please visit: www.invizius.com

About Prof Stenvinkel MD, PhD, FASN 

Prof Stenvinkel has received numerous accolades and awards including the prize for the best Swedish thesis in diabetology (1994), Baxter Extramural Grant (1996), the Karolina Prize (2005) and Vizenca prize (2009), the Addis Gold medal by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) for nutritional research (2010) and was the National Kidney Foundation international awardee in 2012. As a fellow of the European Renal Association, he has also received the ERA-EDTA prize for outstanding educational contribution (2017). He is a member of the council of International Society of Nephrology and an associate Editor of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT) as well as previously its editor-in-chief. He has received an honorary membership of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology 2010 and of the Polish Society of Nephrology in 2012. His Hirsch index is 92 according to PubMed and 118 according to Google Scholar.

About Karolinska Institutet

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Its vision is to advance knowledge about life and strive towards better health for all. Karolinska Institutet accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical research conducted in Sweden and offers the country's broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.

For more information on Karolinska Institutet, please visit www.ki.se/en