HOTI news
Healthcare Of Today Acquires Leading Organ Preservation And Transport Technology Company
BURBANK, CA-June 28, 2010-Healthcare of Today, Inc. announces that it has acquired Organ Transport Systems, Inc. (“OTS”), a leading edge developer of the LifeCradle® portable preservation and transport technology for human organs. In a unanimous vote, OTS shareholders approved the acquisition, which took effect June 26, 2010
OTS has been identified for later inclusion in Healthcare of Today’s biotechnology holding portfolio, Discovia Life Sciences (www.discovia.com).
Organ Transport Systems, Inc. (www.organtransportsystems.com) aims to fill the gap between the need, donation, and utilization rate of organs, using its breakthrough preservation technology. The US waiting list for organs has grown to over 100,000 individuals, and yet utilization rates are strikingly low, for example only 23% of donated hearts and 9% of donated lungs are transplanted.
In published preclinical studies, the OTS LifeCradle® device and perfusion solutions have significantly increased the time for which donor organs can be utilized and enhanced the health and viability of organs. Additional pre-clinical studies have been expanded to evaluate deceased donor hearts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and new studies are just being initiated at Duke University Medical Center to extend the LifeCradle® use in the pediatric heart transplant arena.
CEO of OTS Michael B. Holder says, “Supply and demand take on a crucial meaning when you are talking about life-threatening situations like organ transplantation. Right now organ demand significantly outweighs organ donor supply and usage, and we have the solution that can change that. We join HOTI at an important time, as we are making rapid progress toward implementing our technologies globally, with patents worldwide and ongoing preparations for widespread European and American clinical studies.”
One donor can provide up to eight solid organs according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). OTS’s LifeCradle® technology is currently designed for the heart, but can be adapted to work with and improve the utilization rates of each of the other solid organs. The organ transplant market is approximately $9 billion in the U.S., of which $1.8 billion is spent on organ procurement and transportation. OTS’s FDA clinical trial in the United States is planned for 15 of the major cardiac transplant centers throughout the country.
OTS's Board of Directors includes Tommy G. Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and initial leader of the Donor Organ Breakthrough Collaborative. Thompson says, “OTS is ready to provide the world with a better model for donor organ utilization. By joining Healthcare of Today and its uniquely networked set businesses, we will have an additional strategic framework and partnerships to move us more aggressively toward our goals. Our alliance with Healthcare of Today arises naturally from the fact that OTS and HOTI share the belief that offering the healthcare field better, more efficient, higher quality options for the work they do, resulting in better patient outcomes, is not a luxury, it's a necessity."
