FRANCE –CardioRenal, a Grenoble-based company that specializes in improving the treatment of patients with severe chronic renal disease (CKD) at home, has raised US$3.7 million in seed funding.

The backers were French entrepreneurs and long-term shareholders of companies (the management).

CardioRenal, led by CEO Maurice Bérenger, specializes in improving home treatment for patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Maurice Bérenger, CEO of CardioRenal commented: “This fundraising will support our roadmap for our forthcoming launch in Europe and the United States. We would like to thank our investors for their confidence and for joining us on this round, which has surpassed our expectations.”

Around 700 million people worldwide have chronic kidney disease (CKD), with many more likely going undiagnosed.

These patients’ blood potassium levels fluctuate frequently, exposing them to the risk of cardiac complications.

Cardiovascular events are responsible for up to 30% of deaths in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The Grenoble-based company CardioRenal has raised €3.3 million (US$3.7 million) from angel investors and long-term company shareholders to provide treatment at home for patients with severe CKD.

Its platform allows doctors to optimize patient care by remotely monitoring key blood biomarkers and optimize patient care.

The seed funding will be used to continue the company’s plan to obtain regulatory and clinical approvals of its integrated tool in 2023 in the U.S. and Europe.

In October 2021, CardioRenal conducted a clinical trial with the technology. The findings of this trial will be presented at the European Renal Association congress in May in Paris, France.

In the same space of renal health, Fresenius Medical Care, InterWell Health, and Cricket Health, entered into a definitive agreement to create an independent new company that will operate under the InterWell Health brand.

At the same time, Valo Health is acquiring TARA Biosystems, the creators of a 3D heart tissue modeling platform, to help boost its drug discovery and development work in cardiovascular disease.

TARA’s “heart-on-a-chip” system creates a small, functional simulacrum of the beating organ to aid researchers in predicting the success of potential therapies or determining where cardiac toxicity may pose a risk.

Previously, the company collaborated with biopharmas such as GlaxoSmithKline to test new drugs, as well as with artificial-intelligence-driven drug development companies such as VantAI, Insilico Medicine, and Valo itself, to investigate how computer-designed molecules perform in vitro.

Valo, formerly known as Integral Health, received a significant financial boost last year in order to pursue these objectives.

After raising US$190 million in venture capital funding in January of last year, the company followed up with another US$110 million in March.

By June 2021, it had announced plans to go public through a planned SPAC deal backed by Khosla Ventures, which would have added more than US$500 million to Valo’s coffers—but that deal fell through in November, with the companies blaming “current market conditions.”

Valo recently announced a multi-year partnership with Charles River Laboratories to provide AI-powered drug discovery services to biopharma customers.

The project would connect Valo’s Opal platform with the CRO’s development capabilities, with an offering made available exclusively through Charles River later this year.

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