LIVER TRANSPLANT INNOVATION SECURES £6.4M EQUITY FUNDRAISE

OrganOx Ltd, a spin-out from Oxford University’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, has secured £6.4 million in equity fund raising.

OrganOx’s first product, the metra, is transforming liver transplantation, improving the viability and supply of donor organs and has so far supported more than 1,000 liver transplants globally.

Liver disease kills around 11,000 people a year in England, a rise of around 40 per cent over the last decade and this upward trajectory shows no sign of stopping.

Some patients, though not all, could recover if they receive a liver transplant, but tragically there are not enough healthy donated livers to meet demand.

The funding will enable the company to accelerate programmes in its research and development pipeline, including a Phase I trial for a normothermic kidney perfusion device.

The key requirement of normothermic machine perfusion is to provide an environment that is protective to the organ, ensuring optimal oxygen delivery and supporting metabolic function.

Since the first successful liver transplant was done in 1967, experienced surgeons have had to decide whether to use a donated liver largely by visual and physical assessment alone. In the heat of the moment, with the patient often in the operating theatre, there’s little time for detailed analysis before transplantation, and the surgeon will always err on the side of caution. If they deem a donated liver is marginal, it will be rejected.

OrganOx’s metra device gives surgeons time and the means to assess the quality of the liver before transplantation takes place and allows a liver to be transplanted at body temperature.

Dr Oern Stuge, OrganOx Chair, said: “The company faces an important year with continued commercial rollout in the UK and Europe and preparations to launch commercial activities in the US, pending FDA approval.”

Could the South West be home to a new fusion energy plant?

Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire’s bid to host a new fusion energy plant has made it into the final five shortlisted to become the future home of the UK’s prototype fusion energy power plant – the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, or STEP.

STEP is a government-backed programme to build a prototype fusion energy plant in the UK. The STEP plant aims to generate net electricity as well as demonstrating how the plant will be maintained and how it will produce its own fuel.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) say that the newly-named ‘Severn Edge’ bid to develop the initial £220 million plant has made it to the last five, and is now competing against Ardeer (North

Ayrshire), Goole (East Riding of Yorkshire), Moorside (Cumbria) and Ratcliffe-on-Soar (Nottinghamshire).

STEP will pave the way to the commercialisation of fusion and the potential development of a fleet of future plants around the world. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is targeting first operations in the early 2040s.

Katherine Bennett, Chair of the Western Gateway partnership, said:

“I am very excited about the next phase of work with UKAEA, as we continue the assessment process and work together towards a hugely significant piece of infrastructure for the region and for the UK.”

Andy Bates, of Nuclear South West, the industry body powered by Business West, said: “We believe that our

Severn Edge nomination is very strong scientifically and technically.

“We have an incredible scientific and engineering base here, with high temperature expertise being a particular strength. We are also one of the leading regions in digital and digital design, which will be crucial to the success of STEP.”

The Severn Edge team believe that the site’s proximity to the Culham Centre for Fusion Technology in Oxfordshire will be an added advantage in the final selection process.

In addition to its initial £222 million commitment to STEP, the government has already invested £184 million for new fusion facilities, infrastructure and apprenticeships at Culham Science Centre near Oxford and at Rotherham, South Yorkshire.