Fresenius Helios patients in Germany can soon start accessing letters from their doctors, test results and other medical documents over an online platform – the Helios Patients Portal. This new portal can also be used to make appointments. The confidentiality of patient data is assured through the use of two-factor authentification. All 86 of the company’s hospitals, 126 medical care centers and eight prevention centers throughout Germany are being gradually linked to the Helios Patients Portal. The company is also developing a portal for doctors.

Fresenius Helios patients in Germany can soon start accessing letters from their doctors, test results and other medical documents over an online platform – the Helios Patients Portal. This new portal can also be used to make appointments. The confidentiality of patient data is assured through the use of two-factor authentification. All 86 of the company’s hospitals, 126 medical care centers and eight prevention centers throughout Germany are being gradually linked to the Helios Patients Portal. The company is also developing a portal for doctors.

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of dialysis products and services, today announced the publication of its 2019 global annual medical report. Titled “Global Insights, Local Promise: Transforming Healthcare Through Interconnected Intelligence,” it outlines how the company is harnessing the power of an increasingly interconnected world to pioneer solutions that can have a large-scale impact on patient care.

The report also explores ways to apply insights gained in different markets on a global level, and how best practices can be adapted to specific market needs.

In addition to articulating experiences in dialysis care across diverse regions, the report delves deeper into several focus areas relevant to the healthcare industry and the evolution of kidney care:

• Expanding home therapies to give dialysis patients more control of their lives and improve treatment outcomes.
• Improving transplant access through open communication and collaboration among multiple stakeholders.
• Embracing diversity and an interdisciplinary approach to improve value-based care in kidney disease.
• Developing predictive models to identify dialysis clinics that are encountering problems or in need of additional support, and,
• Clarifying and explaining the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Dr. Frank Maddux, Global Chief Medical Officer of Fresenius Medical Care, said: “Interconnected thinking is central to our way of working at Fresenius Medical Care and it demonstrates our commitment to making a difference in the lives of patients. The people of Fresenius Medical Care, all around the world, have always been our greatest asset. Harnessing the full potential of their interconnected intelligence can boost innovation, advance medical progress, develop better therapies, and help drive the transformation of healthcare systems worldwide.”

Spectra Laboratories, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care North America, broke ground on a 200,000-square-foot (approx. 18,500 square meters) laboratory in Southaven, Mississippi yesterday. The project is expected to create more than 300 jobs over the next three years. Spectra Laboratories offers renal-specific laboratory services, using state-of-the-art equipment, automated specimen processing, and reporting applications. At Spectra’s new build-to-suit facility, employees will conduct comprehensive testing, analysis, and reporting to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of dialysis services and products, plans to invest EUR 60 million in its independent affiliate Unicyte AG in a Series A financing round. Unicyte, a leading regenerative medicine company with translational programs in the field of kidney disorders and other diseases, will primarily use the capital to start clinical trials of its first product candidates in 2020 and to establish the required manufacturing processes.

Over the last four years, Unicyte has created a unique set of proprietary technology platforms of human liver stem cells (HLSCs), HLSC-derived islets and nano-Extracellular Vesicles (nEVs). nEVs are stem cell-derived particles that support communication between cells.

Unicyte succeeded in confirming the disease-modifying potential of its nEVs in various preclinical models of chronic kidney disorders. Combined results of these studies demonstrate nEVs’ efficacy and underlying mechanism of action in preventing renal fibrosis and its subsequent progression to end-stage renal disease.

“Regenerative medicine could provide highly innovative therapies to chronic kidney disease patients and is becoming increasingly important for our industry. Driving regenerative therapies not only addresses the U.S. administration’s initiative to improve the prevention of end-stage renal disease, but can help us to significantly slow the progression of kidney disease and make the most innovative therapies available to our patients,” said Rice Powell, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care.

Dr. Olaf Schermeier, Fresenius Medical Care’s CEO for Global Research and Development, said: “This continued investment in Unicyte shows our commitment to developing the best treatment options for our patients across the renal care continuum. At the same time, it puts Fresenius Medical Care at the forefront of innovation in the field of regenerative renal stem cell therapy.”

“Based on our preclinical results, the commitment of Fresenius Medical Care is a strong driver for Unicyte’s next milestone, the start of clinical development with the required organizational structure. It will also provide a solid data package for our non-kidney product candidates to seek strategic partnerships as the next step,” said Florian Jehle, CEO of Unicyte.

Quirónsalud, Spain’s largest private hospital group and part of Fresenius Helios, has acquired Clínica Las Vegas and Clínica del Prado and further expanded its presence in the attractive private hospital market in Colombia. Clínica Las Vegas and Clínica del Prado are two centrally located hospitals in Medellín, a major city of 2.5 million people. The two facilities have a total of about 300 beds. The total investment for both hospitals is about €50 million.

Following Quirónsalud's entry into Peru in 2017 and the acquisition of Clínica Medellín this year, this is another step in strengthening the company’s presence in Latin America’s growing and consolidating hospital markets. Fresenius Helios expects both transactions to close in Q4 2019, pending anti-trust and regulatory clearance by the Colombian authorities.

Phenylephrine Hydrochloride Injection is the latest addition to the company´s growing anesthesia and analgesia portfolio.