Israeli end-stage renal disease cell therapy company KidneyCure has announced an expansion of its financing round with new investors: Aurum Ventures, controlled by Morris Kahn, and Direct Insurance - Financial Investments. The company's previous investors include Jonathan Leitersdorf, Prof. John Finberg, and Gilad Altshuler Holdings. The investments by Aurum and Direct Insurance bring the total raised by KidneyCure to $4 million.
KidneyCure, located in Tel Aviv, has 10 employees. The company develops treatment in which a "mini-kidney" produced from the patient's cells supports the activity of the diseased kidney. The main benefit is likely to be postponement of the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant. The company's entrepreneur and developer of its product is Prof. Benjamin Dekel from the Sheba Medical Center.
KidneyCure's CEO is Dr. Alon Yaar, founder and former CEO of NeuroDerm, acquired by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in 2017 for $1.1 billion.
"KidneyCure offers innovative technology for treatment of the advanced stages of kidney disease for which there is no cure at present," Yaar says. "Chronic kidney disease has reached the dimension of a plague, with an estimated 200 million patients worldwide. There are 30 million patients in the US alone. Annual spending in the US on medical treatment for chronic kidney patients exceeds $64 billion, amounting to 20% of all Medicare medical spending in the US.
"The addition of Aurum Ventures is an expression of confidence in KidneyCure. Beyond the investment, Aurum contributes vast experience and a profound knowledge of the field to KidneyCure and its board of directors. The new capital raised will enable us to expedite research and development, meet the target for completion of the regulatory process, and bring the company to the beginning of clinical trials."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 18, 2018
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