UPDATE: Istios Health Expands Clinical Research Network into Texas Through Kidney Care Associates Partnership
Partnership strengthens Istios’s growing nephrology research network and expands community-based research capabilities
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PHOENIX, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Istios Health, a healthcare technology and clinical research company, today announced a partnership with Kidney Care Associates, marking its expansion into Texas and strengthening its national network for cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) disease research. The partnership builds on nephrology, Istios’s fastest area of specialty practice expansion, and brings clinical research infrastructure directly into an established independent practice serving the Texoma region.
Based in Denison, Kidney Care Associates serves patients across North Texas and Southeastern Oklahoma, with roots for more than three decades. Vinod Prasad, M.D., will serve as principal investigator, leading the practice’s participation in clinical research with support from Istios’s research operations and Navigator technology platform.
Drug development increasingly reflects the shared pathways connecting chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Private practice nephrologists care for patients at the intersection of these conditions, often over many years. Their clinical expertise and sustained patient relationships position them to identify relevant patient populations and lead studies that evaluate therapies across the CKM disease spectrum.
“Nephrology is incredibly well positioned to be at the center of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic drug development,” said Nick Carlucci, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Istios Health. “Our expansion into Texas with Dr. Prasad and Kidney Care Associates gives us an important new base for growth. By combining their clinical expertise and patient relationships with our research infrastructure and technology, we can help sponsors reach the specific patient populations their studies require and move from feasibility to enrollment more efficiently.”
Through the partnership, Istios will embed research operations into the practice and use its Navigator platform to support patient identification, protocol feasibility and trial planning. By helping characterize patient phenotypes and identify potential study candidates within the practice, the model is designed to accelerate site activation and enrollment. Istios will support study coordination, regulatory processes and sponsor engagement, enabling physicians to lead research within the community setting where patients already receive care.
“We care for patients whose kidney disease is closely linked to diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Vinod Prasad, M.D., MPH, Principal Investigator at Kidney Care Associates, Denison, TX. “As a nephrologist, this gives us a valuable perspective on therapies across these conditions. Partnering with Istios provides the infrastructure and support to bring clinical research into our practice, giving our patients access to cutting-edge research opportunities with physicians who already know their medical history and best understand their care.”
For life sciences sponsors, the Texas expansion broadens access to community-based patient populations and adds nephrology expertise to Istios’s growing research network. The partnership supports the company’s strategy to place independent specialists at the center of modern drug development, with coordinated operations and longitudinal clinical data supporting clinical trials, post-market studies and real-world evidence generation.
About Istios Health
Istios Health is a healthcare technology and clinical research company building regional centers of excellence focused on cardiometabolic, immunology and rare disease research. Through partnerships with independent specialty practices, Istios combines coordinated research operations, longitudinal clinical data and its Navigator platform to support clinical development, post-market studies and real-world evidence generation across the product lifecycle.
About Kidney Care Associates
Kidney Care Associates is an independent nephrology practice based in Denison, Texas, serving North Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. Established in 2006 through the merger of two practices, its physicians have served the Texoma community since 1993. The practice provides comprehensive kidney care, including chronic kidney disease management, hypertension treatment, dialysis care and kidney transplant follow-up, through its offices and regional hospital and dialysis relationships.
For more information please contact:
growth@istioshealth.com
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