IVIVA Medical wins KidneyX Prize for bioartificial kidney created using 3D printing

IVIVA Medical, a biotech startup that develops living therapeutics to cure patients with organ failure, has won a Phase 2 KidneyX Prize from the Kidney Innovation Accelerator, a public-private partnership between the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for its work developing a fully implantable bioartificial kidney – using 3D printing. As part of the prize, IVIVA will be awarded $1 million to advance its research and develop cell-based living therapeutics that replace the kidney’s most essential functions.

IVIVA Medical estimates that 850 millions people in the world have kidney disease, including 37 million Americans. Treatment costs in the United States are more than 100 billion dollars a year. Management and maintenance therapies are ongoing, expensive, and often undermine the person’s quality of life. Organ transplants are the only hope these patients have. The shortage of organs means that patients are forced to wait for an average of five years or longer before they can receive surgery. IVIVA Medical is working on transforming the status-quo by developing fully implantable, bioartificial kidneys that offer patients with dysfunctional organs a cure and normal life.

“Patients with renal failure experience not only the impact of their disease but the inevitable side effects of existing treatments because transplant organs are only available for a few lucky recipients. We’re working to transform organ replacement. Because we build these implants from patient-derived cells, there will be no need for long-term immunosuppression, no risk for rejection, and no donor organ shortage,” said Harald Ott Founder and CEO of IVIVA Medical. “We are excited to join the KidneyX community and are grateful for the support of the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Nephrology. Receiving one of the KidneyX awards will help us to mature our technology and improve patients’ lives.”

In the past, the development of a fully functioning bioartificial renal organ has been challenging due to its complexity. It is made up of multiple cell types that perform several important functions. IVIVA can advance its technology with the KidneyX Prize and help to address the organ shortage.

“Kidney diseases are common, serious, and deadly. People with kidney disease demand innovative technologies and management strategies that will replace dialysis. Dialysis has been changing slowly and incrementally for the last 50 years. The nephrology research community has responded to this demand with a number of promising discoveries that could revolutionize kidney health care. The Artificial Kidney Prize Phase 2 winners highlight paradigm-shifting solutions in xenotransplantation and regenerative medicine that are being developed to reduce the burdens of kidney disease,” said John R. Sedor, MD, FASN, KidneyX Steering Committee Chair.

“HHS is excited and still remains committed to the partnership and advancing kidney care. With the close of the Artificial Kidney Prize Phase 2, I couldn’t be more thrilled to congratulate the winners of the competition. This prize competition is leading us into the next steps for advancements and solutions in the artificial kidney developments,” said Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health.