A spin-out from Oxford University has rasied £1.5 million to help it develop a device for sustaining human organs outside the body.

A spin-out from Oxford University has rasied £1.5 million to help it develop a device for sustaining human organs outside the body.

The Series A round was led by Oxford Technology Management, manager of the Oxford Technology VCTs, and Technikos, a London-based venture capital business. The Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund, one of 15 government-backed funds to help commercialise university research, also participated in the round.  

Les Russell, chief executive of OrganOx, says, ‘The funds raised will now be invested in developing a working prototype of the machine and completion of the pre-clinical studies before undertaking clinical investigations.’

OrganOx’s technology will initially be used to improve preservation of livers before transplantation. According to the company, it allows livers to be preserved for up to three days, more than three times longer than is possible using conventional cold storage.