After raising more than $142 million in venture capital earlier this year to support its liver transplant technology, OrganOx is adding a zero to the total with a new acquisition offer from Terumo, valued at about $1.5 billion.
The deal would mark the Japanese devicemaker’s entry into the organ transplant sector, with OrganOx operating as a wholly owned subsidiary—alongside Terumo’s operations in cell-based therapies and blood transfusion hardware, as well as its interventional cardiovascular surgery tools and hospital equipment.
OrganOx’s metra platform provides ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion for organ preservation, or NMP, by circulating oxygen and nutrients through the tissue during transport. The company—originally spun out of the University of Oxford in 2008—aims to improve transplant success rates while also opening up the procedure to a broader number of donated organs by expanding the acceptable criteria.
According to OrganOx, metra’s ability to preserve viable tissue for up to 24 hours affords transplant teams and patients more flexibility in scheduling potentially lengthy surgeries. The company said its studies have shown metra’s active approach has helped cut the number of discarded livers in half, compared to standard cold storage and transport in ice.
The metra system was launched in the U.S. in 2022, and has collected regulatory green lights in Europe, the U.K., Australia and Canada. The companies said it has been employed in more than 6,000 liver transplants worldwide.
“Organ transplantation represents a last resort for patients with limited treatment options, and addressing the unmet needs in this area carries significant social value,” Terumo CEO Hikaru Samejima said in a statement. “Donated organs are an extremely precious medical resource, and OrganOx’s mission to deliver transplantable organs in optimal condition deeply resonates with our unwavering commitment to patients—Our Promise. Together with OrganOx, we will strive to provide innovative solutions to tackle the diverse challenges surrounding organ transplantation.”
Terumo also backed the company earlier this year, netting a 0.5% stake through its VC arm, following years of collaborative work in the field.
After OrganOx posted its $142 million equity financing in late February, which was led by HealthQuest Capital, Terumo Ventures joined Piper Heartland Healthcare and Intuitive Surgical’s investment group for a second private placement in May, together adding another $18 million.
“This transaction represents an important milestone for OrganOx and its shareholders,” said OrganOx CEO Craig Marshall. “We look forward to continuing our rich history of collaboration with Terumo to continue harnessing our collective innovations to improve patient care.”
Earlier this year, OrganOx also received a go-ahead from the FDA to conduct a first-in-human clinical trial with eGenesis and its human-compatible, genetically engineered liver derived from pigs. The ex vivo support system would aid patients suffering from acute-on-chronic liver failure and decompensated organ function, as a bridge to transplant or recovery within the intensive care setting. The two companies previously showed how their approach could circulate blood through the body of a brain-dead research donor.
OrganOx is also investigating metra’s NMP for kidney transplants, with plans to launch clinical trials in the U.S.
“Our NMP technology uniquely addresses the quadruple aim of healthcare by benefiting patients, healthcare providers, population health, and the cost of care,” said OrganOx’s chief financial officer, Steve Deitsch. “Thank you to our top tier group of investors, including among others Business Growth Fund (BGF), Lauxera Capital, HealthQuest Capital, Sofina, Oxford University, Longwall Ventures, Technikos, Oxford Investment Consultants, and Intuitive Ventures, [that] provided both the capital and leadership to enable the value creation inherent in today’s announced $1.5 billion transaction.”