Kidney-focused diagnostics specialist Renalytix AI PLC (LON:RENX) has welcomed President Donald Trump’s new policy to support treatments for kidney disease.
On Wednesday, the US President signed an executive order to launch the Advancing American Kidney Health initiative, aiming to improve the lives of Americans suffering from kidney disease, expand patient options and reduce healthcare costs.
READ: Renalytix gushes higher as kidney failure test shines in validation study
The AIM-listed company, which is developing an artificial intelligence-powered product to improve the identification and clinical management of patients with Type 2 diabetes and fast-progressing kidney disease, highlighted that the order sets out a new US policy to prevent kidney failure whenever possible through better diagnosis, treatment and incentives for preventative care.
With kidney disease the ninth-leading cause of death in the US, with roughly 37mln American suffering from chronic kidney disease, the order said: “The state of care for patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease is unacceptable: too many at-risk patients progress to late-stage kidney failure, the mortality rate is too high, current treatment options are expensive and do not produce an acceptable quality of life.”
TRUMP: "You've worked so hard on the kidney. Very special -- the kidney has a very special place in the heart. It's an incredible thing." pic.twitter.com/JLM3uCsO5u
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 10, 2019
US secretary of health Alex Azar is expected to select a payment model to identify and treat at-risk populations earlier in disease development, aiming to broaden the range of care and Medicare payment options available to potential participants with a focus on delaying or preventing the onset of kidney failure, preventing unnecessary hospitalisations, and increasing the rate of transplants.
Renalytix’s KidneyIntelX device has been granted a proprietary Medicare code, scheduled to become effective on 1 October 2019 before a Medicare price is set for next January.
Shares in Cardiff-based Renalytix, which floated last November at 121p, were up 1% on Friday to 329p.