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KidneyX Innovation Accelerator

The Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX) is a public-private partnership between the US Department of Health and (HHS) and (ASN) to accelerate innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney diseases.

Washington, DC, USA

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Description

The Kidney Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX) is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) designed to spur breakthrough innovations for kidney disease — including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. KidneyX runs open prize competitions that award non-dilutive cash prizes to solutions that can improve outcomes and quality of life for people affected by kidney conditions.

Eligibility

• Open to researchers, innovators, startups, companies, clinicians, engineers, patient innovators, and multidisciplinary teams tackling challenge topics.
• Eligibility criteria vary by challenge, but most accept proposals from individuals and organizations worldwide.
• Participants must submit solutions aligned with the specific challenge’s technical focus, and meet technical, ethical, and intellectual property policies.
• There are no defined revenue, stage, or customer-traction requirements across the general KidneyX platform.

Process

  1. Challenge Announcement: KidneyX defines a specific unmet problem area (e.g., artificial kidneys, sustainability) and issues a call for applications/proposals. 

  2. Submission: Innovators across disciplines submit technical proposals, solution descriptions, and often prototype plans tailored to the challenge requirements. 

  3. Review and Judging: A panel of experts (clinicians, scientists, technologists) evaluates submissions against defined judging criteria. 

  4. Prize Awards: Winners receive cash prizes and recognition; some major challenges award multi-million dollar prize pools, distributed among top innovators. 

  5. Ecosystem Linkages: KidneyX also promotes network connections, visibility, and partnerships for innovators, though it does not act as a VC or incubator. 

What an Applicant can Obtain

✔ Cash prizes ranging from thousands up to multi-million dollar award pools depending on the challenge topic and winners.
✔ Global recognition and press exposure through the KidneyX platform.
✔ Access to a collaborative ecosystem of researchers, clinicians, industry partners, and patient advocates.
✔ Connections to government and non-government stakeholders interested in advancing kidney care technologies.
✔ Opportunities to accelerate innovations toward clinical, regulatory, and commercial pathways (informally through exposure and partnerships).