INDIANAPOLIS (July 22, 2008) - Doctors treating patients with suspected kidney ailment or injury may soon have a new tool to more quickly understand the extent of the disease, reducing the time from diagnosis to treatment for the ailment that affects more than 15 million Americans.
FAST Diagnostics, an Indianapolis-based developer of kidney injury and disease detection technology, is using a $2 million grant from the state's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund and follow-on funding from the National Institutes of Health, BioCrossroads and Rose Hulman Ventures to develop its technology that quickens kidney function testing.
"The 21st Century Fund is a powerful tool aimed at assisting new and innovative companies like FAST Diagnostics to bring cutting-edge technologies to the marketplace," said Governor Mitch Daniels.
Located in the Indiana University Emerging Technologies Center, FAST Diagnostics' technology tracks the body's kidney function, known as glomerular filtration rate, by injecting inert molecules into a patient's bloodstream. A fiber optic device inserted into the body through a catheter tracks the molecules, measuring how effectively the body filters waste giving an accurate filtration rate reading in only 20 minutes. Current measurement procedures, which can't be used in patients with acute kidney injury, can take up to 24 hours for an initial reading and several additional hours for follow up readings.
"We have an opportunity to arm health care providers with a tool that's desperately needed," said Joe Muldoon, chief executive officer of FAST Diagnostics. "We have a huge responsibility to make an impact, particularly with acute kidney injury, where the damage currently advances without detection."
Scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Rose-Hulman Ventures will continue to develop the product in preparation for commercialization. Muldoon expects a finished device to be ready for clinical trials in 2009 followed by a commercial launch in 2011. The company plans to hire up to 65 additional associates to assist in research and development.
An estimated 15.5 million Americans over the age of 20 have physiological evidence of Chronic Kidney Disease, according to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. In 2005 more than 485,000 U.S. residents received treatment for end-stage renal disease at an estimated cost of $32 billion in public and private funds.
FAST Diagnostics is one of 58 businesses awarded a 21st Century Fund grant since January 2006. During that time, the fund has invested more than $74 million in high-tech Indiana entrepreneurial companies with the potential to create more than 6,000 new jobs.
About FAST Diagnostics
Fast Diagnostics' patent-pending diagnostic device and method provides rapid and accurate diagnosis of true kidney function for use in hospitals, intensive care units, cardiac catheterization labs, and physician offices. This technology gives healthcare providers a valued diagnostic tool for improving outcomes for 3.5 million patients contracting acute renal failure annually and the 40 million Americans suffering from chronic kidney disease.
About IEDC
Established under Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Indiana Secretary of Commerce Nathan Feltman serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC. Since the creation of the IEDC, the state has posted three consecutive years of record-breaking commitments for new jobs. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.
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Media Contacts:
Joe Muldoon (FAST Diagnostics) - 317.278.0234
Mitch Frazier (IEDC) - 317.232.8873 or MFrazier@iedc.in.gov
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