Nextkidney raised €4.1M for more freedom and a better life for kidney patients
January 11, 2023 - Author : Gaëtan Pannetier
4.1 million euros raised by Nextkidney for more freedom and a better life for kidney patients, One of the largest crowdfunding campaigns during 10 years Oneplanetcrowd.
Portable artificial kidney will soon bring kidney patients worldwide more freedom and a better quality of life
Decide for yourself where, when and how often you receive dialysis. That will soon be possible with the “Neokidney,” the world’s first portable hemodialysis device, often called a “portable artificial kidney. For millions of kidney patients, this means more freedom and a significant
improvement in quality of life. Oneplanetcrowd raised 4.1 million euros in two months for Nextkidney, the company behind Neokidney, to enable market launch. The funding was co-led by Generous Minds.
A life-threatening situation
When kidney damage leads to kidney failure, kidney transplantation and dialysis are the only treatment options. Around 2.8 million people depend on dialysis to stay alive. Hemodialysis has a huge impact on a kidney patient’s life due to the time-consuming and intensive dialysis sessions :
usually 3 times a week a 4-hour treatment in a hospital. A dialysis patient must completely adapt his life to the treatment he receives. It is also one of the most expensive treatments reimbursed by basic insurance.
An impactful solution
Nextkidney stems from the initiative of the Dutch Kidney Foundation and health insurers CZ,ZilverenKruis and Menzis to give patients more freedom and quality of life. In recent years, work has been done on a unique device that allows patients to dialyze independently. You can therefore dialyze more often, longer and wherever you want. This gives patients back a big part of their freedom, improves their quality of life and increases their life expectancy. In addition, the cost of treatment decreases because less care support and dialysis fluid is needed.
Fabian Cornelissen has been a kidney patient for almost 20 years. Unfortunately, after three failedtransplants, he is again dependent on dialysis: “If I didn’t dialyze I would die. For me, this device really
makes a very big difference. It’s portable. You can use it on the road or on vacation. The idea that you can move around with this device is already a liberation.”
What else is needed to bring the Neokidney to patients ?
The Neokidney is in the final stages of development. The working prototype is ready. Safety testing began in Singapore in April 2022. And in fall 2023, two clinical trials with patients will start in France and the Netherlands. These steps are necessary for market approval in Europe and then in the United States.
Pilots in Dutch hospitals
With health insurers CZ, Zilveren Kruis and Menzis, Nextkidney is working on pilots in Dutch hospitals. Joep de Groot is CEO of CZ: “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 contributes to a reduction in healthcare costs, partly because it requires less deployment of scarce medical staff. Thereby, this unique dialysis machine helps to keep healthcare in the Netherlands widely accessible for everyone.”
About Nextkidney
Nextkidney B.V. focuses on a combination of social impact and profitability. The development of the “Neokidney,” the new international designation for the portable artificial kidney, takes place in Nextkidney’s laboratories in Lausanne and Singapore. Management, production and commerce are controlled from the Netherlands. The unique and pioneering collaboration with both patients, nephrologists and Dutch health insurers is receiving a lot of attention worldwide as a new innovation model.
Oneplanetcrowd
Oneplanetcrowd is the largest sustainable crowdfunding platform in the Netherlands. Maarten de Jong is director of Oneplanetcrowd: ”We are extremely proud of this final result! For Oneplanetcrowd the largest funding campaign since 2019 and the second largest of all time. Wonderful to see that our constituency of investors, like us, see the importance and potential of this innovation for kidney patients.”.
Did you miss this investment opportunity ?
Because of the successful crowdfunding and interest from national- and international investors, Nextkidney is offering the opportunity to invest until the end of January.
Do you want to help bring this unique healthcare innovation to market ?
Click here to register for the upcoming webinars where Tom Oostrom (Director Kidney Foundation) and John Stooker (Chief Financial Officer, Nextkidney) will tell you more about the Neokidney and the investment proposition.
John Stooker is available for questions about the Neokidney and the investment proposition that runsuntil the end of January. He can be reached at : j.stooker@nextkidney.com.