More than $4 million has been awarded to two projects at The George Institute for Global Health at UNSW Sydney, Australia through the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) scheme.

The two grants were among four projects awarded International Clinical Trial Collaborations funding, which aims to increase Australian leadership and participation in high quality international collaborative clinical trials.

Professor Craig Anderson at UNSW Medicine and Health and Director of Global Brain Health, The George Institute, will receive over $2 million for a new trial to help improve outcomes for people who have experienced an ischaemic stroke.

Over 50,000 Australians are living with the effects of stroke, resulting in over $6 million in direct health care costs and $26 billion in indirect costs through loss of life and suffering.

On the other hand, a team of researchers at the Institute, co-led by Professor Sunil Badve at UNSW Medicine & Health, have been awarded over $2.2 million to conduct a new trial to improve outcomes for people with advanced stages of kidney disease.

A class of drugs called SGLT2 inhibitors have already been shown to improve heart, circulatory and kidney outcomes in patients with mild and moderate stages of CKD, but they haven’t been studied in people who are in the advanced stages of the disease or in kidney failure.

The new international trial will evaluate whether the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin can also reduce risk of death, heart failure and kidney failure in people with advanced stages of the disease or in kidney failure.