Project Grant R44DK145259

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded Pavaj Vascular Corporation $1,094,070 on September 2, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to develop and advance nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery technology for preventing arteriovenous fistula stenosis in hemodialysis patients.

Pavaj Vascular is engineering a therapy using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles encapsulated with calcitriol—the active form of vitamin D3—delivered adventitially via thermosensitive hydrogel to the arteriovenous fistula outflow vein. The candidate therapy targets venous neointimal hyperplasia, the primary mechanism of fistula failure, by down-regulating immediate early response gene expression. Preclinical studies in mice and pigs with chronic kidney disease demonstrated that adventitial nanoparticle delivery reduces stenosis and venous neointimal hyperplasia while increasing blood flow, without inducing hypercalcemia—a limiting side effect of systemic vitamin D administration. The project addresses a significant clinical need: approximately 70 percent of 880,000 end-stage kidney disease patients in the United States rely on hemodialysis, yet one-year arteriovenous fistula patency reaches only 62 percent, generating over three billion dollars in annual maintenance costs.

Work will be performed in Rochester, Minnesota, with a period of performance through April 30, 2028. This is assistance Type Project Grant.