Quanta Dialysis has signed an agreement with B. Braun to provide support services to Quanta’s patients in the UK. The hemodialysis firm launched its compact hemodialysis device SC+ on the market at the beginning of the year.

The pharmacy retail chain and drug distributor will buy the insurer for $69bn in a merger to build what the companies say will be a new, more affordable healthcare concept.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) affects 600,000 Americans, striking over 120,000 people a year, and most of these patients require renal replacement therapy, such as hemodialysis. For most, that means a several-hour treatment, three times a week, at a dedicated outpatient center run by a service company like DaVita, Inc., or Fresenius Medical Care. But getting dialyzed at home is another option. Just under 2% of patients do home hemodialysis (HHD) today, but a growing number of companies are betting that this number could increase substantially.