Terumo, a leading medical technology company based in Japan, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of OrganOx, for approximately $1.5 billion. OrganOx specializes in advanced organ preservation devices using Normothermic Machine Perfusion technology, which preserves organs longer by circulating oxygen and nutrient-rich fluids through organs at near-body temperature. This technology enables real-time monitoring of organ condition during storage and transport, helping prevent transplantation of impaired organs and improving success rates. The device has regulatory approvals in the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and has been used in over 6,000 liver transplant procedures worldwide.
Key goals include improving organ utilization rates, enabling use of marginal donor organs, enhancing post-transplant outcomes, and reducing healthcare professional burden.
Normothermic machine perfusion is also used in lung transplantation.
The technology continues to evolve and improve, and currently there are multiple commercially available systems, and more under investigation worldwide.
Read more at this link on Biospace.
Summary by Suzanne Lea, AfPH volunteer