John P. Butler, President and CEO of Akebia Therapeutics, Takes Helm as New Chair of Nation’s Largest Kidney Coalition

Washington, DC, January 21, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Kidney Care Partners (KCP) – the nation’s leading kidney care coalition composed of patients, caregivers, providers, researchers and manufacturers – is pleased to announce John P. Butler as its new chair. Butler, a long-standing member and officer of KCP, succeeds outgoing chairman Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer for DaVita Kidney Care and emeritus professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who served from 2018 to the end of 2019. Butler was elected among his peers to serve a two-year term from 2020-2022.

Butler is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Akebia Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for people living with kidney disease. Butler has formerly served as a Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Kidney Fund, one of the nation’s leading kidney disease nonprofit organizations.

“Kidney Care Partners advocates for people living with kidney disease, and champions programs and policies to increase awareness, ensure access to care and empower patient-centered decision making,” said John P. Butler. “It is a great privilege to be elected among my peers to serve in this leadership role and I look forward to advancing initiatives that promote and support innovation to meet the needs of a large under-served population.”

Today, there are an estimated 37 million American adults who are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which if untreated, can ultimately progress to kidney failure – an irreversible condition that is fatal without a kidney transplant or life-sustaining dialysis treatments. Each year in the United States, more than 124,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney failure. Currently, more than 700,000 Americans suffer from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and over 500,000 are on dialysis.

“This is an opportune time to act on alignment among dedicated, bipartisan members of Congress, the Administration, and the broader kidney community to advance innovative renal therapeutics and technologies that have the potential to dramatically improve health outcomes,” Butler added. “As the largest kidney coalition, KCP can lead a confluence of gifted minds and focused resources to take the standard of kidney care to a higher level.”