XENiOS Invests $2.6 Million in XOR-Labs

XENiOS, a commercial-stage medical device company, has invested $2.6 million in XOR-Labs Toronto, a spin-off of Toronto General Hospital at University Health Network (UHN), a major lung transplantation center in Tronto, Canada.

XOR-Labs Toronto has developed an advanced 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, M.D., 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,” added Georg Matheis, M.D., managing director and founder of XENiOS. “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.”

Globally there are approximately 1 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.

XOR-Labs is a medical device company focused on leading dramatic advances within the fields of organ transplantation and diseased organ treatment.

XENiOS AG is based in Heilbronn, Germany and makes therapies and technologies for minimally invasive lung-and-heart assist.