SINGAPORE, July 16, 2018 — AWAK Technologies (AWAK), a pioneering medical technology company focused on dialysis using regeneration technology for end-stage renal disease, today announced a move to its new headquarters, strengthening its presence in Singapore to support growth over the next few years.
The new 6,000 square foot office in Tuas, Singapore, houses 16 employees in research, regulatory and business development functions. AWAK will also have a fully-equipped chemistry lab, engineering lab and a clean room manufacturing facility to support the company’s research, development, manufacturing and commercial activities.
AWAK’s move to its new headquarters follows the appointment of AWAK’s new management team
late-2017. Led by Chief Executive Officer Suresh Venkataraya, the management team consists of:
- Mandar Gori, Director of Marketing and Business Development
- Daniel Tan, Director of Program Management and Operations
- Joel Preetham Fernandes, Director of R&D and Quality
- Carol Lim, Head of Finance and HR
The new management team has a combined global commercial experience of close to 50 years in medical devices covering R&D, Finance, QA/RA, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing and FDA and CE approvals, and underscores AWAK’s vision in bringing its patented sorbent technology that enables the development of ultra-portable peritoneal and haemodialysis machines to market globally. By 2023, the global dialysis market is projected to grow to US$124 billion1.
AWAK has also recently formed a Technical Advisory Committee, which will provide scientific guidance and advice on product development, comprised of senior advisors who are scientific experts in biochemistry, biopharmaceuticals and commercialisation of dialysis technologies. In addition, the Medical Advisory Board includes experts such as Dr Gordon Ku (Founder and Chairman of Kidney Dialysis Foundation, Singapore) and Prof A. Vathsala (Co-Director of the National University Centre for Organ Transplantation at the National University Health System, Singapore).
Suresh Venkataraya, Chief Executive Officer, AWAK, said: “We have made significant progress in recent years, including securing financing from Southeast Asia’s largest medtech company, Accuron MedTech, which will accelerate the research and development of our product. We expect to complete our first-in-human trial this quarter, a significant milestone for AWAK. I am excited about AWAK’s next phase of growth as we look to bring our revolutionary technology to markets globally and change the lives of end-stage renal disease patients worldwide.”
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About End-Stage Renal Disease
The End stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is the fifth stage of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) that affects the functioning of kidneys, leading to accumulation of excess fluid and toxic wastes in the blood. People with ESRD undergo either renal transplantation or dialysis. Since renal transplantation is highly dependent on patient’s health and age, dialysis scores over as the primary treatment. It was estimated as of 2011, there were 2.7 million ESRD patients of whom 2.1 million were on dialysis. Of these 2.1 million, 10.8% of the patients are on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and the remaining 89.2% are on hemodialysis (HD)2.
Dialysis treatment can be performed either at home, in a dialysis centre or at a hospital. In hemodialysis, blood is drawn out of the patient’s body into a synthetic filter called dialyser. In the dialyser, there are two spaces separated by a membrane, with blood passing on one side and dialysis fluid on the other side. Waste products and excess water passes from the blood through the membrane into the fluid through diffusion process. The fluid containing the waste products is then discarded while the clean blood is returned back to the patient’s body. In peritoneal dialysis, the lining of the abdominal cavity acts like the external filter to cleanse the blood. Dialysis fluid is introduced into the abdominal cavity through a permanent tube. The fluid remains in the abdominal for a certain period of time before it is drained and discarded.
About AWAK Technologies
AWAK Technologies Pte Ltd. is a pioneering, patient-centric medical technology company with a mission to enhance the lives of dialysis patients and their caregivers by providing solutions to deliver better outcomes and improve their quality of life.
Headquartered in Singapore with an office in Burbank, California, USA, the company is dedicated to the research, development and marketing of novel, sorbent-based kidney dialysis machine for the treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease. For more information, please visit: www.awak.com
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1 KBV Research. (2017). Global Dialysis Market. |
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2 Damien, P., Lanham, H. J., Parthasarathy, M., & Shah, N. L. (2016). Assessing key cost drivers associated with caring for chronic kidney disease patients. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 690. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1922-4 |
SOURCE AWAK Technologies
