RTI to Oversee “KidneyX” Innovation Accelerator for Those Affected by Kidney Disease

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve as the evaluator for the Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX) initiative.

There are 850 million people worldwide currently affected by kidney diseases. Through KidneyX, HHS and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) are launching a series of prize competitions to provide funds to winners that show promising technologies and solutions to patients suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease.

RTI will collect data from entrants, awardees and stakeholders involved in KidneyX. The two-phase competition will be conducted from 2018 through 2023. Evaluators will analyze data to offer feedback for ways to improve the performance of KidneyX, as well as determine how well KidneyX fulfills the goals and expectations for the initiative.

For its first competition, KidneyX is soliciting ideas that will be components or solutions leading to the redesign of kidney dialysis. Dialysis is a life-saving technology, but it still leaves patients with substantial morbidity, mortality and a decreased quality of life. The competition is intended to attract a wide range of ideas and participants to speed new, improved classes of renal replacement therapeutic options.

Phase 1 of the competition is accepting entries through Feb. 28, 2019. Prizes of $75,000 will be awarded to proposals that could lead to improvements and alternatives to current renal replacement therapy. Awards will be announced by the end of March 2019.

Phase 2, scheduled to open after the Phase 1 awards are announced, will accept entries for the development of prototype solutions and components. An additional set of awards of $250,000 each will fund further development of prototypes demonstrated to show promise. Entries for Phase 2 will be due by Jan. 31, 2020, with awardees announced at the end of March 2020.

More information on the competition is available at the KidneyX website (http://www.kidneyx.org).