BURBANK, Calif.—The Department of Veteran Affairs announced AWAK Technologies as a winner of the VA Innovation Initiative’s (VAi2) Industry Innovation Competition (Industry-IC).
AWAK Technologies has been awarded a contract to support the study of its automated wearable artificial kidney system.
“The Industry-IC invites private sector companies, entrepreneurs and academic leaders to contribute ideas for innovations”, with forward-looking areas of interest including “proposals to test utility and feasibility of employing wearable dialysis devices.”
“The VAi2 award is the initiation of a major paradigm shift in kidney dialysis,” said Dr. Gordon Ku, Chairman of AWAK Technologies. “Wearable dialysis provides mobility to patients and promised improved quality of life”.
AWAK Technologies Pte Ltd was incorporated in 2007, with offices in Singapore and Burbank, CA, and dedicated to the research, development and marketing of a peritoneal dialysis-based automated wearable artificial kidney for the treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease.
Dr. David B. N. Lee, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director of the Laboratory of Artificial Kidney Innovation and Development, VAGLA Healthcare System, and Chief Scientist of AWAK Technologies commented, “AWAK provides round-the-clock dialysis and ultrafiltration, thus duplicating more closely the function of a normal kidney. This is expected to provide steady-state metabolic-biochemical and fluid balance regulation, thereby eliminating the “shocks” of abrupt changes in these parameters that characterize current dialytic modalities. “
“The AWAK trial will run from 2012 to 2013. The trial shall validate the safety and efficacy of the wearable, sorbent regeneration peritoneal-based dialysis system with an animal trial preceded by a series of in vitro and ex vivo studies.” said Dr. Martin Roberts, Co-Director of the Laboratory for Artificial Kidney Innovation and Development, VAGLA Healthcare System, Principal Investigator of the VAi2 award, and Chief Scientist of AWAK Technologies.
