Business
ITL signs manufacturing agreement with OrganOx
ITL signs manufacturing agreement with OrganOx.
About this update from Gooch & Housego Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 6541S Gooch & Housego PLC 13 March 2019 \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n 13 March 2019\n\n\n\n \nRNS REACH\n \n \n \nGooch & Housego PLC \n(\"Gooch & Housego\" or the \"Company\")\n \nITL signs manufacturing agreement with OrganOx\nGooch & Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer of optical components and systems, announces that its life science business ITL has been awarded a five-year contract from OrganOx Limited for the manufacture of metra, an innovative medical device that allows livers for transplant to be stored and transported at body temperature.\nThe metra system operates by supplying a donated liver with oxygenated blood, anti-clotting drugs and assorted nutrients whilst keeping the organ at a stable temperature (37°C). It has the potential to significantly reduce the number of livers that are discarded due to damage incurred by cold storage or a lack of oxygen.\nOrganOx, which was founded in 2008 as a spin-out company from Oxford university, has already gained marketing approval for metra in Europe and is in late stage clinical trials in the US.\nTom Cole, managing director of ITL, said: \"We are delighted to be working in partnership with OrganOx on this ground-breaking project. This agreement is yet another important milestone positioning metra as one of the most promising transplantation candidates in late-stage development. This collaboration marks the beginning of what I'm sure will be a very exciting journey for both ITL and OrganOx.\"\nCraig Marshall, CEO of OrganOx, said: \"This agreement is strategically important to OrganOx as we prepare to penetrate the US market. I have a manufacturing background and I know the importance of working with the best partners in the supply chain. ITL is a great fit with OrganOx given their track record of successfully bringing medical devices to the market coupled with UK HQ with a presence in the US and in China.\"\nUniversity Hospitals Birmingham is one of the European liver transplant units to have conducted clinical research into metra, which was featured last year in the BBC TV series Surgeons: At the Edge of Life.\nDarius Mirza, professor of transplant surgery at University Hospitals Birmingham, said: \"In the 30 years I've been involved with transplantation, there have been three or four events w...