Dutch startup Nextkidney develops world’s first portable hemodialysis device for kidney patients; plans 2024 launch

Bussum, the Netherlands-based Nextkidney, a medtech company, announced that it has developed the world’s first portable hemodialysis device — Neokidney. 

According to the Dutch company, Neokidney is in the final development phase and is expected to launch in the Netherlands by 2024. The company has already started safety testing in Singapore in April this year and planning for clinical trials in France and the Netherlands this fall. 

“These steps are necessary for market approval in Europe followed up by the United States,” says the company in the press release. 

Nextkidney: Making hemodialysis treatment accessible 

When kidney damage progresses to kidney failure, patients have two treatment options — kidney transplantation or dialysis. 

Every year, 2.8 million people worldwide undergo dialysis treatment. However, hemodialysis is extremely demanding in terms of time commitment and intensity, dramatically impacting a kidney patient’s life.

Nextkidney is an initiative of the Dutch Kidney Foundation to increase patients’ freedom and quality of life. 

To enhance the lifestyle of patients suffering from kidney failure, the company, in cooperation with the Dutch health insurance companies CZ, Zilveren Kruis, and Menzis, as well as professional developers, developed Neokidney to let patients dialyze independently. 

Joep de Groot, CEO of CZ, states, “We invest in the portable artificial kidney and its introduction into healthcare because we believe the portable artificial kidney dramatically improves the life of kidney patients. The portable artificial kidney also reduces healthcare costs, partly because it requires less deployment of scarce medical staff. Thereby, this unique dialysis machine helps to keep healthcare in the Netherlands broadly accessible for everyone.”

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’ development occurs in Nextkidney’s laboratories in Lausanne and Singapore.

To accelerate the market introduction, Oneplanetcrowd has started a crowdfunding campaign for Nextkidney to raise €1M to €5M. At the time of writing this article, it has collected €1.9M from 760 funders.