There’s been a surge in funding for health tech startups trying to treat or stave off the worst symptoms of chronic kidney disease, a costly and often deadly condition that affects 37 million people in the U.S. alone.
Chronic kidney disease develops when the kidneys are so damaged they can’t filter blood as well as needed. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other metabolic conditions are at especially high risk of developing the condition. It’s an especially costly condition to treat — in 2019, Medicare spent more than $87.2 billion on treating CKD in its enrollees, and another $37 billion on treating Medicare beneficiaries for end-stage renal disease, which can develop if kidney problems go untreated. But treatment, particularly in the early stages, can slow its progression and potentially prevent patients from developing kidney failure and needing dialysis or a transplant.
Flush with venture capital funding, new entrants in the space are coming at chronic kidney disease from all sides. Big names like Somatus offer nephrologists access to online portals that house patient data analytics and clinical workflows, and partner with local clinicians for in-home care. Some startups are developing new approaches to risk stratification, leveraging data from payers and electronic health records to find patients who are most at risk for progression to end-stage kidney disease. Others are working to bridge the gaps in care for underserved populations; patients with Medicaid, for example, have higher-than-average rates of kidney disease and often struggle to access treatment.
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