Letter Signed by 18 Members of Congress Urges Administration to Include $25 Million in KidneyX to Address Nation’s Kidney Disease Epidemic 

WASHINGTON, DC – Kidney Care Partners (KCP) – the nation’s leading kidney care multi-stakeholder coalition representing patient advocates, physician organizations, health professional groups, dialysis providers, researchers and manufacturers – today commended Congressional Kidney Caucus Co-Chairs Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Larry Bucshon (IN-08), and 16 additional Members of Congress, for co-signing a letter calling on the Biden administration to prioritize investments in kidney innovation and research in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Executive Budget to support “KidneyX.”

The Kidney Innovation Accelerator – or KidneyX – is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), to accelerate chronic kidney disease research and improve kidney care. KidneyX aims to accelerate innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) – or kidney failure.

More than 37 million Americans are currently living with chronic kidney disease, which, if left untreated, can ultimately progress to kidney failure, requiring dialysis care or a kidney transplant. Furthermore, millions more individuals are at risk of developing this deadly disease and are not aware of their risk.

“This critical funding for KidneyX is an important step toward addressing existing barriers to innovation in kidney care and ensuring patients have access to the most advanced innovations, treatments and therapies,” said Michele Kimball, Executive Director of KCP. “KCP applauds the leadership of Representatives DelBene and Bucshon for advocating for innovations in kidney disease management so Americans living with kidney disease and kidney failure can continue to get the best care, access, and choice there is.”

KidneyX was first announced in 2018 as a partnership between HHS and ASN to spur the development and commercialization of innovative technologies and therapeutics in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases. A true public-private partnership, the private sector has already contributed millions to fund the program and is committed to matching federal funding to achieve a total of $250 million over the next five years.

The first prize competition, Redesign Dialysis, aims to incentivize the development of next-generation dialysis products and is about to enter Phase 2, in which participants will be asked to develop and demonstrate prototype dialysis technologies.

“KidneyX fills a critical gap in the development of new kidney disease treatments and technologies and has the potential to make life saving and life-enhancing differences in millions of people’s lives,” concluded Kimball. “We are proud to see that promise continue today and thank all of our partners in the federal government, Congress, and the private sector for making this a promise a reality.”

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