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Japanese Startup to Begin Pig Kidney Transplant Trials at Two Hospitals in 2028
PorMedTec announced plans to begin clinical trials of pig-to-human kidney transplants at Hokkaido University Hospital and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital as early as 2028. The effort uses pigs with 69 gene edits supplied by U.S. firm eGenesis. Japan currently has roughly 15,000 people waiting for kidney transplants.
Japan TimesAudio version
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Japan Times reported that Japanese startup PorMedTec announced on June 29, 2026, that it will conduct clinical trials of pig-to-human kidney transplants at Hokkaido University Hospital in Sapporo and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, as early as 2028.
The kidneys will be taken from cloned pigs raised in Japan after the company imported cells from genetically engineered animals developed by U.S. biotech startup eGenesis.
Those pigs carry 69 gene edits intended to limit immune rejection and the risk of porcine virus transmission. Four earlier trials using eGenesis kidneys in the United States allowed patients to go without dialysis for as long as nine months. PorMedTec said it will seek production and marketing authorization once the Japanese trials establish safety.
More than 300,000 people in Japan receive dialysis for renal failure, while about 15,000 await a kidney transplant. Annual transplants from brain-dead donors total roughly 200, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network. The government designated cross-species transplants as a priority area in its public-private investment roadmap released earlier in June 2026.
Hiroshi Nagashima, head of PorMedTec and professor at Meiji University, said the company will work to make the technology useful in clinical practice.
