Xeltis BV plans to expedite an international pivotal trial investigating its restorative hemodialysis access graft Axess following encouraging preliminary data. The company released results from a clinical trial investigating the graft at CX 2022, the Charing Cross International Symposium on Vascular and Endovascular Challenges, in London. Data showed the graft had 100% functional patency and safety in a patient cohort of 11, with a median follow-up of 6.5 months.

With an FDA 510(k) clearance now in hand, Cloudcath Inc. is planning a phased launch of its remote monitoring platform for peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The company will make the system available on a limited basis in second half of 2022 “with broad U.S. availability increasing throughout 2023 and 2024,” Cloudcath CEO Aly ElBadry told BioWorld. The Cloudcath system continuously analyzes the dialysate fluid used in PD to detect early signs that a patient needs evaluation or intervention and then alerts both patients and clinicians.

Nextkidney BV has signed a deal to buy Dialyss Pte. Ltd. as it gears up to commercialize its home hemodialysis device Neokidney. The Singapore-based startup specializes in sorbent technologies for the regeneration of dialysate and has been a collaborator of Nextkidney’s for six years. The combined team will prepare for a clinical trial in Singapore, followed by a European multicenter trial and CE mark submission in 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The U.S. CMS has crafted a payment policy that covers both adjunctive and non-adjunctive continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in the final rule for durable medical equipment (DME). Medtronic plc, of Dublin, heralded the move as “a very important benefit expansion” for the company’s customers, but the expanded coverage also pays for additional CGMs that work with Medtronic insulin pumps.

The FDA has designated Impedimed Ltd.’s Sozo digital health platform a breakthrough device for renal failure, paving the way for the first FDA approved device to measure fluid volume in the dialysis setting.

Quanta Dialysis Technologies Ltd. raised $245 million in a series D round led by Glenview Capital. The funds will be used to accelerate commercialization of the company’s SC+ portable hemodialysis system. Novo Holdings co-led the oversubscribed and upsized financing, with support from Blackrock, Eldridge, Sands Capital, Millennium Management, Monashee Investment Management LLC, Puhua Capital, Segulah Medical and Ancora, alongside Orlando Health, an integrated delivery network.

Berlin – Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA reported that its global division, Fresenius Medical Care, and its Frenova Renal Research division have enrolled the first subjects in its new initiative to develop the largest genomic registry in the world to focus on kidney disease. At the same time, the German firm also announced that Ali Gharavi, chief of the division of nephrology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will lead the project and provide scientific guidance as principal investigator.

PERTH, Australia – About seven years ago, Australia’s George Institute for Global Health conducted a study to find out how many people require dialysis for end-stage kidney failure compared to how many people receive treatment.

Patensee Ltd. initiated a first-in-human trial of its machine vision-based surveillance system for stenosis in hemodialysis patients. The trial will evaluate the imaging system's ability to perform contact-free surveillance of the access points or fistulas essential for dialysis, which nearly all narrow or become blocked over time. The surveillance system aims to mimic the central components of a dialysis nurse's exam using technology.

The portable hemodialysis market is heating up. For example, Quanta Dialysis Technologies Ltd. recently made a splash by receiving clearance from the U.S. FDA to market its portable hemodialysis system SC+. According to the Alcester, U.K.-based company, SC+ can deliver the higher dialysate flow rates typically used to provide conventional three-times-a-week prescriptions, while also offering the flexibility for more frequent, longer and gentler treatments tailored to patients’ needs.