A medtech VC firm said kidney care is emerging as a key focus area, citing a range of startups innovating in the space after attending this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Speaking to Medical Device Network after the curtain came down on the conference, which took place between 12-15 January in San Francisco, Shai Policker, co-founder and managing partner at Israeli VC Edge Medical Ventures, said the kidney care space, an area “without too much innovation” in recent times, now appears to be “evolving and waking up”.
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“There are now more startups in this field, and in the coming years, I expect more innovation to come, with a focus on the early kidney failure space, the prevention of kidney failure, towards later stage dialysis and kidney replacement and transplants,” Policker said.
Policker highlighted that there was a particular focus on innovation centred on delaying the progression of kidney failure and towards better ways to manage dialysis clinics, each driven by a growing shortage of urologists.
One startup Policker pointed out was PatenSee, an Israeli company that is providing a new type of data for the monitoring of vascular access in dialysis clinics.
“In every dialysis session, you have a rush of patients coming in who all have to be connected for a three- to four-hour dialysis session. It’s hard for clinical teams to actually monitor the vascular access, to see if any complication may be developing, or to make sure that the cannulation is done right,” Policker said.
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By GlobalData“Quality and consistency is highly variable. PatenSee’s offering is like a new imaging system. It uses laser vibrometry to give a rapid view of the arm of the patient where the dialysis fistula is, with a lot of new information that then can be analysed offline,” Policker continued.
“It is intended to reduce the stress and the burden on the dialysis session itself, and give clinical teams new information that can be assessed to determine, for example, when a patient may need an intervention.”
In the US, research indicates that this shortage is being driven by a lack of new entrants into the urology field and existing practitioners approaching retirement age. According to the American Urological Association (AUA), the percentage of urologists practicing beyond the age of 65 years has increased from 22.9% in 2014 to 29.8% in 2021, with many expected to retire over the next decade.
Policker continued: “Part of this innovation is focused on how technology can be utilised to help alleviate the shortage around trained personnel across all stages of the kidney care continuum.”
According to GlobalData analysis, the global nephrology and urology devices market is growing at a CAGR of 3.3% and is projected to reach a valuation of $12.43bn in 2034, up from around $9bn in 2024.
In June 2025, Vantive, formerly Baxter’s kidney care unit, which spun out as part of a $3.5bn divestment deal with global investment firm Carlyle in 2024, pledged $1bn towards advancing its kidney care and vital organ support proposition. The company said it was making the investment to meet the demand presented by the increasing burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Research indicates that around 35 million Americans have CKD, with a global mortality rate of over 1.5 million in 2021.
In medtech, a high level of dealmaking failed to materialise at this year’s J.P. Morgan conference – bucking the meeting’s general trend as seen in recent years, with M&A in the pharma space similarly subdued. However, ensuring there was at least one megadeal announced during the event, Boston Scientific stole the limelight with its agreement to acquire thrombectomy specialist Penumbra in a deal worth $14.5bn.
Meanwhile, some observers expressed their view that the appeal of attending J.P. Morgan’s conference may be dwindling, with the event’s value proposition and the high costs associated with attending potentially dampening enthusiasm.
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