The FDA has established a new innovation pathway designed to help new end-stage kidney products reach patients more rapidly! The first three to be chosen from 32 others are:
1) A Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) from Blood Purification Technologies of Beverly Hills California
2) An implantable Renal Assist Device (iRAD) from University of California, San Francisco
3) A Hemoaccess Valvue System (HVS) from CreatiVasc Medical in Greenville, SC.
These produts all offer innovation and may help the 500,000 patients suffering from end -stage renal disease and help lower the 29 billion dollar cost of treatments. Nice move, FDA ! We may start to cover some of these products (because some assist medicines in working) in the next edition of The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs. More at www.fda.gov.