BMI OrganBank™ Selected by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for Funding to Advance Medical Device

• BMI OrganBank is developing novel organ perfusion systems with potential to greatly reduce the waitlist for lifesaving organ transplants.
• Funding will advance commercial readiness of OrganBank Transport medical device and contributes to their current seed funding round.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC, October 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — BMI OrganBank, a developer of organ perfusion systems, announced today that it has been approved for a Small Business Research Loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech) to advance its OrganBank Transport platform, a medical device which will greatly expand the possibilities for organ preservation and reconditioning. Recipients were selected through a highly selective process by NCBiotech based upon robust proof-of-principle data and clear commercial promise, followed by a rigorous due diligence process.

Millions of registered organ donors die every year, but relatively few have their kidneys recovered and transplanted. As a result, over 90,000 Americans are on the waiting list for lifesaving kidney transplants. This imbalance in supply and demand could be addressed by the greater use of kidneys from older donors and donors after circulatory death (DCD). With current organ preservation approaches these kidneys are vulnerable to significant injury during the period before transplantation, leading to increased rates of organ rejection. As such, clinicians and patients are reluctant to utilize them.

To improve the preservation and acceptance of these kidneys, investigators at the Duke Ex Vivo Organ Lab (DEVOL) and BMI OrganBank developed a unique perfusion platform which has shown great promise for extending preservation times and improving post-transplant outcomes. BMI OrganBank has taken an exclusive license through the Duke University Office for Translation & Commercialization to this technology. With this funding, BMI OrganBank will advance this technology and the OrganBank Transport platform towards commercialization.

Carrie DiMarzio, CEO of BMI OrganBank, stated, “We are delighted and honored to have been selected by NCBiotech. We look forward to continuing to advance our technology into the clinic so that patients can benefit.”

“Our growing team is committed to bringing disruptive technologies like the OrganBank Transport to the organ transplantation market,” commented Robert Neusner, Chief Operating and Business Officer of BMI OrganBank.

BMI is dedicated to bringing advanced organ and tissue perfusion systems to bear on longstanding unmet medical needs. BMI devices, with patented and proprietary technologies, have been used in over 100 preclinical procedures, including kidneys, livers, limbs, hearts, intestines, and lungs. BMI is currently conducting a seed funding round.

About BMI OrganBank

BioMedInnovations LLC, doing business as “BMI OrganBank” was founded to develop novel perfusion systems that can preserve and recondition organs and tissues. BMI has research facilities in the Innovation Accelerator at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC and in Research Triangle Park, NC. BMI OrganBank has multiple medical devices in development that use its patented and proprietary technologies. To learn more, visit bmiorganbank.com. 

About the Duke Ex Vivo Organ Lab

The Duke Ex Vivo Lab (DEVOL) focuses on the development of novel strategies to enhance the function of high-risk transplanted organs. At present, much of their work involves the use of ex vivo organ perfusion technology, in which grafts are maintained in a metabolically active state outside the body. This platform provides the opportunity to assess the viability of the organ and to deliver therapeutic treatments to enhance graft function. To learn more, visit the DEVOL website.

About the North Carolina Biotechnology Center

Since 1984, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center has led life sciences technology-based economic development for the state by supporting the progression of ideas from the research lab to the marketplace. A private, non-profit state-funded corporation, NCBiotech invests in technology development through grants, in company development through loans, and in economic development through partner development grants. Our transformational programs and activities develop strengths that yield high-paying life sciences jobs statewide. NCBiotech is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, with regional offices in Asheville, Charlotte, Greenville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem. To learn more, visit ncbiotech.org.