Lifeline Scientific, the medical technology company, announces today that its Organ Recovery Systems division has signed contracts for the sale of additional LifePort® Kidney Transporters to an existing customer while adding another major customer to its growing global customer base.
After a successful pilot program initiated in late 2006, Toronto based Trillium Gift of Life, Canada’s largest organ procurement organisation, has purchased 6 additional LifePort Kidney Transporters and plans to expand their use of machine preservation to all cadaveric donor kidneys. The contract also involves the sale of a significant volume of consumables each year and covers ongoing warranty and maintenance services.
Trillium expects to employ LifePorts on 80 to 100 kidney recoveries initially, and 300 to 400 kidney recoveries annually once the expanded program is fully operational.
As a result of Trillium’s purchase there are now 16 LifePort Kidney Transporters currently in use in Canada, with Trillium becoming the company’s biggest Canadian customer.
Another of Canada’s leading transplant programs, McGill University/The Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, has also adopted LifePorts for cadaveric kidney preservation. Royal Victoria’s initial employment of LifePort has been a success and plans expanded usage of machine preservation.
With these recent contract wins, LifePort adoption in Canada is now almost nationwide. 763 cadaveric renal transplants were performed in Canada during 2007 with 67% of these taking place in Toronto and Montreal. At the end of 2007, 2,942 patients were on the active kidney transplant waiting list in Canada.
David Kravitz, Chief Executive of Lifeline Scientific, said:
“We are delighted to secure contracts from the largest Canadian organ procurement organization and one of Canada’s leading renal transplant hospitals. The adoption of our LifePort Kidney Transporter as standard practice in such prominent kidney transplant programmes is another strong vote of confidence for our product.”
Enquiries
Lifeline Scientific, Inc.
David Kravitz, CEO
Seymour Pierce (Nomad) +44 (0)20 7107 8000
Mark Percy / Huaizheng Peng / Sarah Jacobs
Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7831 3113
Ben Brewerton / John Dineen
Notes to Editors
The LifePort Kidney Transporter is the Group’s lead product. It is designed with the challenges of organ recovery and transport in mind, and provides a sealed, sterile, protected environment where a physiologic chemical solution is gently pumped through the donated kidney at cold temperatures to minimise tissue damage while the organ is outside the body.
Since receiving FDA clearance and CE Marking in 2004, over 250 LifePorts have been employed in pilot programs with leading transplant organizations throughout Europe and North America, preserving more than 12,000 kidneys for clinical transplantation.
Initial clinical outcomes studies have shown that machine preservation improves the quality of a kidney from a cadaveric donor prior to transplantation in comparison to organs statically stored in a traditional cool box. This data demonstrates that machine perfused kidneys are more likely to function immediately after transplantation and remain healthier for longer. Results from an independent investigator driven multi-national, prospective, randomized clinical trial employing LifePort are expected to be published later this year.
