Japan Startup to Conduct Clinical Trials of Pig Kidney Transplants

Tokyo, June 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese biotechnology startup PorMedTec Co. said Monday that it will conduct Japan’s first clinical trials of pig-to-human kidney transplantation at two hospitals in the country as early as 2028. The two hospitals are Hokkaido University Hospital in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The transplantation of animal organs into humans, known as xenotransplantation, is expected to help address the chronic shortage of donor organs. The startup originating from Meiji University aims to obtain manufacturing and marketing approval after confirming safety through the trials. PorMedTec imported cells of genetically modified pigs developed by U.S. startup eGenesis to raise cloned pigs for transplantation in Japan. It will transplant kidneys removed from these cloned pigs into patients. The pigs have been genetically modified at 69 sites to suppress immune rejection and their risk of infection with pig-derived viruses has also been reduced. In the United States, four clinical trials of such xenotransplantation have been conducted so far, and in the longest case, a patient was able to come off dialysis for about nine months. More than 300,000 patients in Japan are receiving dialysis for conditions such as chronic renal failure, and about 15,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network, which connects donors and recipients, only about 200 transplants from brain-dead donors are performed annually in the country. To tackle the organ shortage, the government has positioned xenotransplantation as one of the priority areas in its public-private investment initiative roadmap released this month. The roadmap outlines a policy to achieve early practical application by developing domestic technologies and establishing manufacturing systems. Hiroshi Nagashima, a Meiji University professor and representative director of PorMedTec, said, “We hope to make efforts to ensure that xenotransplantation develops into a useful medical technology.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]