Japanese companies plan to conduct human trials of pig kidney transplants in 2028

Transplanting the kidneys of genetically modified pigs into humans could be possible in Japan as early as 2028.

Kyodo News reported that PorMedTec, a startup affiliated with Meiji University, announced on Monday (June 29) that it plans to conduct a clinical trial of xenotransplantation in Japan. If successfully implemented, this would be the first such trial in Japan.

It is reported that the trial will be conducted at Hokkaido University Hospital (in Sapporo) and Nanbu Kamakura General Hospital.

Heterotopic transplantation is regarded as a new therapy to alleviate the chronic shortage of organ donations. Currently, experimental studies using genetically modified pigs for kidney transplantation have been conducted in the United States and China.

PorMedTec hopes that through this clinical trial, the company can secure conditional and time-limited approval from the Japanese government for this technology as a product for regenerative medicine and other applications. The company's goal is to make xenotransplantation of kidneys a new treatment option for patients with severe kidney failure, and to promote the popularization of related therapies.

PorMedTec has imported the genetically modified pig cells developed by the American biotech company eGenesis and is currently breeding pigs with the same characteristics in Japan. It is reported that these pigs have undergone 69 genetic modifications. Not only do they reduce the rejection reaction after transplantation, but they also help prevent human infection from pig-derived viruses.