The Kidney Innovation Accelerator announced the winners of the Artificial Kidney Prize Phase 2.
KidneyX is a public private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Nephrology, according to a June 12 news release. The winners were announced during the KidneyX Summit in Washington, D.C.
"Kidney diseases are common, serious, and deadly," John R. Sedor, chaired of the KidneyX Steering Committee, said in the news release. "People with kidney diseases have demanded innovative treatment technologies and management strategies to replace dialysis, which has changed slowly and incrementally over 50 years."
The competition, which recognized participants' approaches to bioartificial kidney development, provided two tracks, the release reported. Track 1 participants each received $1.6 million while Track 2 participants each received $1 million.
"The nephrology scientific community has responded with a pipeline of discoveries that promise to revolutionize kidney care," Sedor added, according to the release. "The Artificial Kidney Prize Phase 2 winners highlight paradigm-shifting solutions in xenotranplantation and regenerative medicine that are being developed to reduce the burdens of kidney disease."
The kidney's complicated structure, made up of many different cell types and serving a number of vital tasks, makes it challenging to create a completely working bioartificial kidney, the release said. KidneyX's reward competition aims to advance a field that hasn't made progress in more than 60 years. The best treatment is a kidney transplant, but there are not enough kidneys available to meet the entire demand.
Kidney disease affects 850 million individuals globally, including 37 million Americans, and treatment expenses alone is more than $100 billion each year, the release said. Reportedly 13 people die each day waiting for a kidney transplant and those who receive dialysis suffer a five-year death rate of about 50%.
Black people, along with those who live in rural areas and belong to lower socioeconomic groups are disproportionately affected by kidney diseases, with higher prevalence, fewer organs available for transplant and worse overall outcomes, according to the release.
Competition submissions sought for Phase 2 of the Artificial Kidney Prize competition focused on creating prototype bioartificial kidneys or a brand-new tool or component that could facilitate bioartificial kidney creation, the release said. The competition sought participants innovative in regenerative medicine, cellular engineering, tissue engineering, systems biology or synthetic biology.
