AstraZeneca Philippines and Medasia Medical Products Corporation have signed a partnership agreement to broaden access to machine testing that can help in the early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD)
The signing of the agreement coincided with National Kidney Month.
“As the burden of CKD weighs heavier on patients’ shoulders, it is essential to have these patient-centric initiatives. We cannot do this alone. It is a collective effort among the medical community, patients, government, and private sectors to be able to improve the overall quality of life for Filipinos and save more patients,” Dr. Nickson Austria said.
“By working in partnership throughout the entire patient care pathway, I hope we can tangibly improve CKD patient outcomes and support our healthcare systems for many years to come,” added Jo Feng, Senior Vice President of AstraZeneca Asia Area.
In 2017, CKD was seen as the 4th leading cause of premature death in the Philippines, with Impaired Kidney Disease taking the 9th spot as cause of death and disability.
In 2021, hemodialysis procedure topped the procedural cases reimbursed through Philhealth.
The partnership between AstraZeneca Philippines and Medasia will enable more Filipino patients to gain access to urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) machines, which detect how much a small protein called albumin is present in the urine — one of the earliest indicators of kidney disease.
The testing may be done in doctors’ offices, hospitals or diagnostic clinics.
A normal amount of albumin in urine is less than 30 mg/g. Anything above 30 mg/g may be an indication of CKD.
“CKD is highly underdiagnosed. Now that our uACR machines are more accessible to patients, we are committed to helping AstraZeneca Philippines and the medical community in addressing the root of the problem,” said MedAsia general manager Oliver Lim.
“In AstraZeneca, we recognize the urgency of early detection, diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease. We stand in unanimity with our partners to improve the healthcare ecosystem and enable solutions including disease education and broad access to diagnostics through our advocacy programs such as the Kidney Patrol which aims to Care, Know and Detect CKD. We are committed to helping improve outcomes, delay progression and prolong dialysis-free survival for more Filipino patients,” added Lotis Ramin, AstraZeneca Philippines country president.
