To Compare the Effects of Immediate-release Tacrolimus and Astagraf XL on Donor-Specific Antibody (DSA) Formation and the Development of Immune Activation (IA) in de Novo Kidney Transplant Recipients

Exclusion Criteria

• •Patient is known to have a positive test for latent Tuberculosis (TB) and has not previously received adequate anti-microbial therapy or would require TB prophylaxis after transplant.
• •Uncontrolled concomitant infection or any unstable medical condition that could interfere with study objectives.
• •Significant liver disease, defined as having, during the past 28 days, consistently elevated Aspartate Aminotransferase, GOT (AST) Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (SGOT) and/or Alanine Aminotransferase, GPT (ALT) Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SPGT) levels greater than 3 times the upper value of the normal range of the investigational site.
• •Patient currently taking or maintained on another form of extended-release tacrolimus following his/her transplant procedure.
• •Patient who will be maintained on a non-tacrolimus-based maintenance immunosuppressive regimen following his/her transplant procedure.
• •Patient currently taking, having taken within 30 days, or who will be maintained on an Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor following his/her transplant procedure.
• •Use of an investigational study drug in the 30 days prior to the transplant procedure.
• •Contraindication or hypersensitivity to drugs or any of their components that constitute the immunosuppression regimen.
• •6 Antigen (Ag) match or zero mismatch at major Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) (class I or class II).
• •Receipt of an Blood Group System (A, B, AB, and O) (ABO)-incompatible organ. Note: A2 donor to O recipient or A2 donor to B recipient is considered ABO-compatible and not excluded by this criterion.
• •Presence of current or historic pre-formed anti-Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) DSA against the current donor (evidence of pre-formed, non-donor HLA is not exclusionary) as defined by a subject meeting any of the following criteria\*: a) positive virtual crossmatch, b) positive T- or B-cell crossmatch by National Institutes of Health (NIH) antiglobulin lymphocytotoxicity method\*\* , c) .Positive T- or B-cell flow cytometry crossmatch defined by the Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) criteria used by the center's HLA lab for their local proficiency testing.,\*\* d) An Mean Fluorescence Intensity (MFI) greater than or approaching 1000 using flow cytometry/Luminex-based, specific anti-HLA antibody testing.
• •* \* Patients are eligible to enroll with a negative virtual crossmatch if used in lieu of a physical crossmatch, if, use of such is required to obviate the accrual of excessive ischemia time. However, continued participation is predicated on the performance of the physical crossmatch within 48 hours of transplant. If the physical crossmatch is positive, the subject will be discontinued.
• •* \*\* If b or c above are positive secondary to a suspected positive auto-crossmatch, that is not exclusionary as long as a and b above are not met.
• •Receipt of desensitization, antibody-removal, anti-B-cell, or anti-plasma cell therapy in the 90 days preceding the transplant procedure.
• •Planned initiation (prior to transplant) of desensitization, antibody-removal, anti-B-cell, or anti-plasma cell therapy within 7 days of the transplant procedure.
• •Donor or recipient with known hepatitis C infection (Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) antibody positive), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection (HIV antibody positive), acute hepatitis B infection (Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) positive, anti-Hepatitis B Virus Core (HBc) positive, Immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-HBc positive, anti-HBs negative) chronic hepatitis B infection (HBsAg positive, anti-HBc positive, IgM anti-HBc negative, anti-HBs negative), or equivocal hepatitis B status (HBsAg negative, anti-HBc positive, anti-HBs negative). Patients (donor or recipient) who have normal liver function tests (LFT) and who are either hepatitis C positive with a negative viral load or have natural or vaccine-acquired immunity from hepatitis B are not excluded by this criterion.
• •Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
• •Subject has a current malignancy or history of malignancy (within the past 5 years), except non-metastatic basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma-in-situ of the cervix that has been successfully treated.
• •Recipient of multi-organ or dual kidney transplants (inclusive of current transplant and any prior non-renal transplants). Note: Patients with prior kidney transplants are eligible.
• •Recipient of an en bloc, pediatric deceased donor kidney from a donor less than 5 years of age OR weighing less than 20 kg.
• •Prior graft loss secondary to Cytomegalovirus (CMV) or BK nephropathy.
• •Prior history of invasive organ disease in the presence of CMV or BKV or clinically significant CMV viremia.
• •History of clinically significant BK viruria.
• •Any condition which makes the subject unsuitable for study participation.
• •Planned complete steroid avoidance (Steroid initiation and subsequent taper / withdrawal will be allowed and will be under the purview of the treating physician).
• •Planned receipt of post-transplant prophylactic HCV treatment.