Image credits: Nextkidney
Bussum, the Netherlands-based Nextkidney, a medtech company that has developed the world’s first portable hemodialysis device, announced on Friday that it has secured €4.1M through crowdfunding on the Oneplanetcrowd platform.
The funding was co-led by Generous Minds. The crowdfunding took place over and will facilitate the market launch of the company’s product.
Nextkidney unveiled Neokidney, the world’s first portable hemodialysis device, often called a “portable artificial kidney,” in late November last year.
Nextkidney: What you need to know
When kidney damage progresses to kidney failure, patients have two treatment options — kidney transplantation or dialysis.
Every year, 2.8M people worldwide undergo dialysis treatment.
Hemodialysis is extremely demanding in terms of time commitment and intensity, dramatically impacting a kidney patient’s life.
To bring kidney patients more freedom and a better quality of life, Dutch Kidney Foundation and health insurers CZ, ZilverenKruis, and Menzis founded Nextkidney to allow patients to dialyse independently.
Joep de Groot, CEO of CZ, says, “We are investing in the portable artificial kidney and its introduction into healthcare because we believe that the portable artificial kidney dramatically improves the lives of kidney patients. The portable artificial kidney also reduces healthcare costs, partly because it requires less deployment of scarce medical staff. This unique dialysis machine helps keep healthcare in the Netherlands widely accessible for everyone.”
Consequently, Nextkidney claims to give patients freedom, improve their quality of life, and increase their life expectancy. In addition, the cost of the treatment decreases, thanks to less care support and dialysis fluid needed.
The Neokidney is in the final stages of development, with safety testing already starting in Singapore in April 2022.
In fall 2023, two clinical trials with patients will begin in France and the Netherlands, since it is necessary for market approval in Europe and the United States.
The ‘Neokidney’ development happens in Nextkidney’s laboratories in Lausanne and Singapore, while management, production, and commerce are controlled from the Netherlands.
The crowdfunding platform
Oneplanetcrowd is the largest sustainable crowdfunding platform in the Netherlands.
Maarten de Jong, director of Oneplanetcrowd, says, “We are extremely proud of this final result! For Oneplanetcrowd, the largest funding campaign since 2019 and the second largest. Wonderful to see that our constituency of investors, like us, see the importance and potential of this innovation for kidney patients.”