Trestle Biotherapeutics is celebrating a major milestone today as they have been selected as one of eight winners of the KidneyX Artificial Kidney Prize program, receiving a sizeable $1 million reward for their innovative work. This is a major success for the company, who competed with 16 finalists from the around the world. The Artificial Kidney Prize is part of KidneyX’s Innovation Accelerator, designed to stimulate innovation and advance the development of treatments for end-stage kidney disease and dialysis.
Revolutionizing the treatment of kidney failure, Trestle is pioneering a revolutionary approach with the integration of cutting-edge techniques in stem cell biology and 3D biofabrication to develop bioengineered kidney tissues for patients. Their innovative San Diego-based company is developing a functional, stem cell-based tissue that, if successful, will eliminate the need for kidney dialysis and restore renal function for those suffering from kidney failure.
“Trestle has embarked on an effort that is really ambitious, but the hundreds of thousands of patients living with kidney failure in the U.S. alone deserve better than the burdensome standard-of-care that was developed nearly 70 years ago,” said Trestle co-founder and CEO Ben Shepherd, Ph.D. “We believe that the medical system can do much better than dialysis for people living with kidney failure, and we hope that our technology will do just that.”
Globally, there are more than 800 million patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the U.S., there are 125,000 new diagnoses of kidney failure each year, and approximately 600,000 patients depend on dialysis, a technology developed more than 65 years ago, for survival. The costs to care for CKD patients in the U.S. exceed $100 billion annually.
KidneyX, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), is accelerating innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases.
Trestle Bio is proud to announce that they have been awarded the KidneyX Phase 2 Prize, along with recognition from the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Nephrology. This is an incredible opportunity for the team to collaborate with leading authorities in the fight against diseases of the kidney. With the help of this financial support, they will strive to create kidney tissues that may one day provide an alternative to dialysis.
John Sedor, M.D., KidneyX Chair and nephrologist at the Cleveland Clinic, expressed his excitement towards the ambitious developments that Trestle is making, remarking, “We are thrilled to support such forward-thinking solutions for kidney failure patients.” The prize money will be used to enhance their pre-clinical research, as they strive towards creating prototype designs and increasing their functionality.
About Trestle Biotherapeutics
Trestle Biotherapeutics, Inc. is on a mission to revolutionize care for those with end stage renal disease. Through its innovative bioengineering approach, the company is creating stem cell-derived tissues that can get patients off dialysis, delay their need for transplantation, and eventually become their very own functioning organs. Be a part of this groundbreaking research and help bring hope to those suffering from renal disease.
About The Artificial Kidney Prize
The Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX), a remarkable public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), is driving groundbreaking advances in the fight against kidney diseases. By leveraging the expertise and resources of both the government and the medical community, KidneyX is driving innovations that could revolutionize kidney health.
The Artificial Kidney Prize seeks teams of innovators, inventors, and scientists to compete in an effort to revolutionize the treatment for kidney failure through the development of continuous kidney replacement therapies. This competition is a search for all types of groundbreaking treatment possibilities, including wearable, implantable, bioengineered, xenotransplant, or chimera organs, or even something that hasn’t been thought of yet.