HEILBRONN, Germany & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XENiOS®, a commercial-stage medical device company, announced today it has invested $2.6 million in XOR-Labs Toronto (“XOR”), a spin-off of Toronto General Hospital at University Health Network (UHN), the world’s leading center for lung transplantation.
XOR-Labs Toronto has developed an advanced and unique system that enables the assessment and repair of previously unusable donor lungs. The system has been proven to dramatically increase the number of lungs available for transplant from the current donor pool and, when commercialized globally, has the potential to help tens of thousands of additional patients around the world.
“The technology behind XOR’s system has a long track record of clinical success. Over the past six years it has been used more than 200 times at UHN, approved by Health Canada, and clinical results using the technology have been extensively published, including in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine,” said Shaf Keshavjee, MD, one the founders of XOR and a globally recognized lung researcher and transplant surgeon at UHN. “XOR’s system will be a game-changer, since it will enable clinicians all around the world to use advanced techniques developed and perfected in Toronto, including gene and stem cell therapy, to make more lungs available for transplant and to make the transplanted lungs even better than the ones available today. All of this will improve patient care and reduce transplant waiting lists.”
“The XOR team has most certainly transformed the lung-transplant world. By developing a platform to allow personalized medicine for the organs themselves, they will also affect the treatment of numerous diseases of lungs and other organs. Given XENiOS’s focus on cutting-edge lung-and-heart-assist therapies and immediate commercial reach, partnering with XOR is a very positive addition to our product family,” added Georg Matheis, MD, Managing Director and Founder of XENiOS.
Globally there are approximately one million patients who could potentially benefit from a lung transplant due to diseases such as Pulmonary Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Unfortunately, at present, fewer than 6,000 procedures are performed each year due to the limited availability of quality lungs, which means that less than 1 percent of patients are being helped and, of those listed for transplant, 20 percent will die waiting for a suitable donor organ. The partnership between XENiOS and XOR-Labs is expected to offer new hope for the thousands of patients in need of a lung transplant.
About XOR-Labs Toronto
XOR-Labs is a cutting-edge medical device company focused on leading dramatic advances within the fields of organ transplantation and diseased organ treatment. XOR’s ultimate goal is to become the worldwide leader in advanced multi-organ therapies, a market conservatively valued at $3-$5 billion.
About XENiOS®
XENiOS AG is a privately held medical device company. XENiOS® is the therapy and technology leader in minimally invasive lung-and-heart assist. Its novalung®, i–cor®, and medos® devices provide pulmonary and cardiac assist for a broad range of support levels, and all run on the XENiOS® console. The XENiOS® products are designed to provide at least four essential advantages with its minimally invasive lung and heart therapies: (1) patients can be awake and mobile;(2) self-actuated patients facilitate improved outcomes; (3) there is no ventilator-associated lung injury or pneumonia; (4) additionally, the XENiOS® platform creates a physiologic natural pulse designed to protect the heart.
