Canada Approves OrganOx metra® for Liver Transplants

OrganOx Ltd, a prominent organ medical technology company, has recently announced that its OrganOx metra® System has received approval from Health Canada for use during liver transplantations. This advanced system is already available for liver transplantations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. The company has plans to launch the system commercially in Canada in 2025.

The OrganOx metra® System operates using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP), a method that involves circulating oxygenated blood, medications, and nutrients to donated organs at normal body temperature under near-physiological conditions. This state-of-the-art technology not only extends the preservation time of organs but also allows for a pre-transplant clinical assessment of the organ's viability. As a result, it enhances operational logistics for transplant teams and improves outcomes for patients.

Craig Marshall, the CEO of OrganOx, expressed his excitement about the approval in Canada, stating that it aligns with the company's mission to improve clinical outcomes for liver transplant patients worldwide. He also mentioned the company's intentions to introduce the metra® System to various transplant centers across Canada in the coming months.

The metra® System's performance has been thoroughly evaluated through several clinical trials. Notably, the Consortium for Organ Preservation in Europe (COPE) European Trial, the first randomized trial to compare machine perfusion to static cold storage in liver transplantation, demonstrated the effectiveness of the OrganOx metra®. In this trial, the metra® System achieved a 50% reduction in graft injury levels despite a 54% longer mean preservation time compared to static cold storage.

OrganOx Ltd, established as a spin-off from the University of Oxford in 2008, is a commercial-stage organ technology company focusing on the preservation of isolated organs. The company’s flagship product, the OrganOx metra® NMP system for liver transplants, has supported over 4,000 liver transplant operations worldwide. This technology optimizes the use of donated organs by facilitating the assessment of liver quality and enabling longer preservation durations. In addition to liver transplants, OrganOx is also developing applications for kidney transplantation.

The OrganOx metra® is a fully automated NMP device that allows for continuous monitoring and evaluation of the liver. This capability empowers surgeons to make informed, evidence-based decisions regarding the transplantation of donor organs and enables viability testing. The metra® System is commercially available in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States, having received the necessary regulatory approvals in these regions.