Affordable
dialysis worldwide?
Q+A with John Knight of Ellen Medical Devices
about the world’s first low-cost dialysis system
Professor John Knight, a children’s kidney specialist, is the
Managing Director of Ellen Medical Devices and a senior researcher
at The George Institute for Global Health. He speaks to POF
about Ellen Medical’s Affordable Dialysis System (the world’s first
low-cost dialysis system), discusses how IP is supporting their
business strategy, and potential investment opportunities…
Inspire October 2020
Q: What is the background
and mission of Ellen
Medical Devices?
6 Ellen Medical Devices is owned
by The George Institute for Global
Health which is a large Australian
medical research institute. The
George Institute consistently
ranks number one in the world for
research impact. We undertake
large scale clinical trials and
epidemiological studies and have
a particularly strong interest in the
translation of our research into
practical policy changes that will
improve the health of people. The
George Institute has had a direct
impact on the health of hundreds
of millions of people around the
world as a result of the research that
we’ve done. Along with Australia,
we have offices in India, China and
the UK and a network of experts
and collaborators throughout
the world, including in the US.

In 2010 we discovered there were
around 10 million people in the
world who needed dialysis for
kidney failure, but only approx.

Vincent Garvey, as he came up with
2.6 million people were receiving
a brilliant breakthrough invention.

dialysis. The sole reason many
Vincent asked the George to form
couldn’t receive dialysis is because
a partnership with him – and Ellen
they couldn’t afford it. Here in
Medical Devices was founded. We
Australia, dialysis costs around
set about building a prototype at the
$85,000 per patient per year. The
start of 2017 and have been going
Australian community picks up the
from strength to strength over the
full cost through the taxation system, last three years. We’ve now reached
and so all Australians can access
the stage where we have a robust
the treatment. Unfortunately that’s
system which is ready to test with
not the case in many developing
patients, which we hope to do for
countries and so many cannot
the first time at the end of this year.

access treatment. The need for
Q: What are the key
dialysis is growing around the world
because of the growing epidemic
differences between the
of diabetes and high blood pressure
Ellen Medical Dialysis
which can cause kidney failure.

system and other machines
The numbers we found in 2010 are
on the market?
likely to be 50% higher today.

There are two forms of dialysis.

The George Institute published
There’s hemodialysis (HD) which
our findings in The Lancet in 2015
purifies the blood and is the most
and as a follow up, announced our
US$100,000 Affordable Dialysis Prize. common form of dialysis. For HD
you need to attach yourself to a
We received entries from all over the
machine for five hours a day, three
world with innovative approaches to
days a week – obviously a very time-
low-cost dialysis. The international
judging panel unanimously awarded
consuming process. In Australia,
the prize to an Irish engineer,
about 70% of patients are receiving