FSP advises BGF on its investment into OrganOx Limited
Field Seymour Parkes has advised BGF on its £4.6m investment into OrganOx Limited, a British MedTech business.
BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested more than £2.1bn in over 300 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK.
The investment will fund commercial expansion of its first product, the metra, in the US, building on commercial traction in Europe, Canada and Australia.
OrganOx metra is the world’s first fully automated system for keeping a human donor liver functioning for up to 24 hours outside the body. The invention breaks with 40 years of traditional organ preservation in ice, doubling the time that donor organs can be preserved.
So far, more than 600 patients have received a liver preserved with the OrganOx metra. It is commercially available in Europe and has been used clinically in North America and Australia. The underpinning technology was developed at the University of Oxford and OrganOx Ltd was spun out from the University in 2008 to develop and manufacture the OrganOx metra.
Craig Marshall, CEO of OrganOx, said: “This investment is key for two reasons. First, the funding will be critical in allowing us to execute our commercial plans in the US. Secondly, having BGF at the board table will ensure we leverage its impressive track record of successfully guiding growing businesses to achieve their full potential. Ultimately this is great news for all our stakeholders including current investors, employees and patients requiring a lifesaving organ transplant.”
Alex Snodgrass, an investor at BGF, said: “We are excited to be investing in another thriving business in the UK’s life sciences sector and growing our presence here in Oxford, one of the country’s most dynamic and innovative business communities. As the first company to commercialise a fully automated liver preservation system, OrganOx has radically disrupted the transplant market and we believe that the potential of this ground-breaking technology on global mortality rates could be significant. We are delighted to be supporting Craig and the team as they scale up OrganOx and take advantage of the opportunities to expand their reach and bring this critical technology to even more patients around the world.”
He added: “We enjoyed working with Penelope and the rest of the FSP team on this transaction. The FSP team’s practical approach again allowed us to complete this transaction in a tight timetable”.
The team at Field Seymour Parkes advising BGF was led by Penelope Garden (partner, corporate).
