NEW YORK, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) announced today that its Innovation Fund has invested in Biohope, a biotechnology company developing precision diagnostics designed to personalize immunosuppressive therapy for kidney transplant recipients and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
The investment will support Biohope's efforts to complete clinical validation studies and seek U.S. regulatory approval then drive adoption of its flagship technology, Immunobiogram®, an innovative in vitro diagnostic platform that helps clinicians personalize immunosuppressive therapy, reduce complications, and keeps transplanted kidneys functioning longer.
Kidney transplant recipients require lifelong immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection. However, current treatment approaches often rely on trial-and-error adjustments that can lead to serious complications, including rejection, infection, cardiovascular disease, toxicity, and eventual graft loss. Biohope's technology is designed to help physicians tailor treatment more precisely to each patient's immune response.
According to Biohope, up to 50% of kidney transplant recipients lose their graft within 10 years, underscoring the urgent need for more personalized approaches to post-transplant care.
"A successful kidney transplant is not the end of the journey for patients — it is the beginning of a lifelong balancing act managing medications and their side effects," said Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation and a kidney transplant recipient. "Biohope's work intends to help clinicians personalize immunosuppressive therapy, reduce complications, protect transplanted kidneys, and ultimately save lives by helping patients keep their transplanted organs functioning longer."
Immunobiogram® analyzes how a patient's immune cells respond to different immunosuppressive drugs, generating individualized sensitivity maps that can help clinicians optimize treatment decisions. Biohope reports that the platform, which is already commercially available in Spain has been evaluated in more than 1,000 patients across multiple clinical studies.
"For kidney transplant patients, maintaining the right balance of immunosuppression is a lifelong challenge," said Virginia González, CEO of Biohope. "NKF has a deep understanding of the unmet needs faced by transplant patients and clinicians. Their support will be instrumental as we complete clinical validation, advance toward U.S. regulatory approval, and make personalized immunosuppressive therapy a reality for many more patients."
Biohope's technology is currently focused on kidney transplantation, with future applications being explored in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Launched in 2021, the NKF Innovation Fund works to accelerate funding, development, and commercialization of therapies that kidney patients need and deserve. The fund invests in early to mid-stage companies that are developing innovative, patient-centric kidney therapies. The long-term goals of the NKF Innovation Fund are to prevent kidney disease, eliminate the transplant waitlist, and provide better, safer treatments for dialysis patients so they can live fuller and more productive lives. For more information about the NKF Innovation Fund, please visit kidney.org/innovationfund.
Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don't know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About Biohope
Biohope is a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in immunology. Its flagship product, Immunobiogram®, is a personalized diagnostic platform designed to optimize immunosuppressive therapy for kidney transplant recipients by measuring individual immune response to multiple immunosuppressive drugs. Founded in 2015, Biohope is advancing technologies intended to improve graft survival, reduce complications, and support more personalized care in transplantation and immune-mediated diseases. Learn more at Biohope
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis and transplantation. For more information about NKF, visit kidney.org
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SOURCE National Kidney Foundation
