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An Oxford University spin-out has been acquired by Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation, for a staggering £1.2bn. OrganOx's "metra" device enables donated organs to stay "alive" outside the body for up to 24hrs, and is said to have saved more than 6,000 lives to date. The device provides real-time monitoring of organ condition during storage and transport, minimizing the risk of organs with impaired function being transplanted into patients.
This device clearly provides a medical benefit, but what is it that makes the company worth over a billion pounds? Yes, sales will contribute to this, and documents filed with UK Companies House show that the company made a profit of £8.6m in the eight months to 31st December 2023.
However, the vast majority of the company's value will lie in its intellectual property, being key assets that prevent other parties from copying the metra technology or taking advantage of its reputation. A quick search shows that OrganOx has patent protection in place for their organ perfusion system in a number of countries worldwide, as well as various trade mark applications and registrations. These cover the company name OrganOx, the company logo, the product name "metra" (note the lack of a capital letter - a branding decision), and a number of other variations.
These rights, collectively, are what give OrganOx their strength in the marketplace, protecting their invention and their branding against copycats, and even against anyone straying too close.
It's key for any start-up to ensure that they have the right IP protection in place at the earliest opportunity; it is this investment that ultimately dictates the value of the company. The success of any application for registration of a patent or trade mark is also important of course, and the chances of success are statistically higher if filed on your behalf by a qualified Patent/Trade Mark Attorney. They will also be able to craft a filing strategy to suit your current needs and future plans, balanced against your budget.
"The machine... essentially recreates around the organ an environment that fools it into thinking it is still inside the body," he said. "So blood-like substance flows through the organ at normal body temperature, the organ is able to breathe and consume nutrients normally, and that means that it is actually functioning outside the body very much as if it were still inside."
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