Integrated chronic kidney disease (CKD) care will be in sharp focus at CVRM Professional Care 2026, with Lead Clinical Pharmacist, Niraj Lakhani appearing in two expert-led sessions.

Niraj will join fellow Pharmacist, Nadia Malik to discuss the uptake of finerenone and its role in improving outcomes for people living with CKD.

He will then return to the stage alongside Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Andrew Frankel to explore the importance of integrated chronic kidney disease (CKD) pathways.

The CKD pathway session will draw on experience from the London Kidney Network and the LUCID programme in Leicester. The session aims to bring secondary care expertise into primary care, enabling upstream management of kidney disease and increasing uptake of disease-modifying therapies.

Niraj will highlight the importance of identifying which patients require referral, managing them appropriately before they reach secondary care and preventing “crash landing” scenarios where patients arrive at hospital with advanced disease.

He said: “Renal patients traditionally tend to crash land in secondary care when eGFR is really low. This upstream work will hopefully help to prevent or delay progression of kidney disease, the need for dialysis and the need for transplant.”

The finerenone session will focus on the “underwhelming” uptake of finerenone in diabetic kidney disease, covering patient eligibility, practical prescribing hurdles and strategies for implementation in primary care.

Finerenone is a drug used by people living with CKD in the presence of type 2 diabetes. Data has shown that a significant portion of people are eligible for the drug; however, very few actually receive it.

Both sessions are designed to be interactive and showcase cross-specialty collaboration with input from pharmacists, GPs and consultants, reflecting the ideal model for healthcare delivery. 

Starting as a community pharmacist, Niraj now holds a lead pharmacist role where he oversees care for a large patient population. His interest in cardiorenal metabolic medicine was sparked through exposure to diabetes and holistic patient care.

According to Niraj, holistic, joined-up care is essential for people living with multiple interconnected diseases.

He said: “Disjointed care leaves people in limbo, not knowing what to do. When the plan is not clear, the patients and clinicians becomes  deer in the headlights and just stands still, not doing anything at all and clinical inertia takes over.

“Holistic, joined-up care is really important. It is integral because our patients do not live with one disease, they live with multiple diseases and they are all interconnected. So, we would be doing the patient a disservice if we treated disease in silo.”

The session ‘Finerenone in practice – what clinicians need to know’ will take place at CVRM Professional Care on October 20, from 3.15pm to 3.45pm in the Keynote Theatre – hosted by Dr Niraj Lakhani (Lead Clinical Pharmacist at Willows Health in Leicester) and Nadia Malik (Practice Pharmacist at Queens Park Medical Centre).

The session ‘When to refer, when to co-manage – clarifying responsibilities across the CKD pathway’ will take place at CVRM Professional Care on October 20, from 4.45pm to 5.30pm in the Clinical 1 Theatre – hosted by Dr Niraj Lakhani and Dr Andrew Frankel (Consultant Nephrologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust).