Spin-out OrganOx secures series C funding
9th May 2012
OrganOx, a medical device development company focused on increasing the quality and supply of organs for transplantation, has completed a series C investment round of just under £1 million.
OrganOx was spun-out of the University of Oxford by Oxford University Innovation in 2008 and secured a Series A financing of £1.5 million in December 2008 followed by a Series B financing of £2.7 million in January 2011.
The round, which was substantially over-subscribed, was supported by both existing and new shareholders.
Dr Les Russell, CEO of OrganOx, commented: “These funds will allow us to continue to build on the significant progress that the company has made over the past 15 months by allowing us to initiate and complete our first-in-man clinical investigation and also by enabling us to prepare for market launch in 2013. The company will also be continuing to push forward with further exciting developments aimed at increasing the availability and quality of organs for transplant.”
About OrganOx
OrganOx Limited is developing a medical device, the OrganOx metra™, that will increase the availability of suitable livers by enabling successful transplantation of organs from non-heart-beating donors and reducing the number of discarded livers. The device operates by maintaining the organ in a fully functioning state during transport and storage, by providing blood flow, oxygen, nutrients and temperature within physiological parameters. This not only enables the liver to be stored safely for a longer period (up to 24 hours) but also provides the surgeon with real-time and cumulative data with which to assess viability and make a decision whether to transplant. This is a major advance over the current method of organ assessment which is largely subjective.
