Tokyo-listed, Terumo, is a global medical device company originating from Japan, is acquiring OrganOx, a UK-based innovator in organ preservation devices, in a transaction valued at approximately US$1.5bn.
With a transaction value of over £1bn, it is one of the largest-ever deals in the UK medtech sector and one of the biggest spinouts from Oxford University.
A commercial stage organ technology company spun out of the University of Oxford in 2008 by Professor Peter Friend and Professor Constantin Coussios, OrganOx specializes in advanced normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) devices for organ preservation. Approved in the US, EU, UK, Canada, and Australia, the OrganOx metra NMP platform technology has been utilized in over 6,000 liver transplants to date. It keeps donor livers in a metabolically active state outside the body, providing transplant teams the opportunity for functional assessment of the organ prior to transplant and leads to an increased number of organs available for transplant.
The acquisition marks Terumo’s strategic entry into the organ transplantation-related sector. By combining Terumo’s expertise in designing medical devices and equipment with OrganOx’s advanced capabilities in NMP, the company aims to deliver innovative organ preservation devices globally and broaden access for patients in need of transplants.
“Organ transplantation represents a last resort for patients with limited treatment options, and addressing the unmet needs in this area carries significant social value,” said Hikaru Samejima, CEO of Terumo Corporation. “Donated organs are an extremely precious medical resource, and OrganOx’s mission to deliver transplantable organs in optimal condition deeply resonates with our unwavering commitment to patients.
Terumo has already made a strategic investment via its corporate venture capital arm, Terumo Ventures, in March 2025 alongside Intuitive Ventures and Piper Heartland Healthcare when OrganOx completed a second closing of a private placement.
“This transaction represents an important milestone for OrganOx and its shareholders,” said Craig Marshall, CEO of OrganOx. “We look forward to continuing our rich history of collaboration with Terumo to continue harnessing our collective innovations to improve patient care.”
The second closing brought total fund raising in primary and secondary equity financing to US$160m following the first close in February 2025.
In 2023, the firm raised £25m in a growth round, led by Lauxera. In 2020, it received a £4.6m investment from BGF. It raised £1.5m in a Series A round in 2008, led by Oxford Technology Management and Technikos. The Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund also participated in the round.
“Thank you to our top tier group of investors, including among others Business Growth Fund (BGF), Lauxera Capital, HealthQuest Capital, Sofina, Oxford University, Longwall Ventures, Technikos, Oxford Investment Consultants, and Intuitive Ventures who provided both the capital and leadership to enable the value creation inherent in today’s announced US$1.5bn transaction,” said Steve Deitsch, OrganOx’s CFO.
This transaction will represent Lauxera’s first exit as an emerging healthcare specialist private equity manager. France based Lauxera was founded in 2020.
“It has been an honour supporting Organox’s outstanding growth through sweat, coaching, and unwavering belief in the transformative potential of the company,” said Lauxera co-founding partner, Samuel Levy, who joined the Organox board following its 2023 investment. “Since our initial investment roughly two years ago, Organox has multiplied its revenue more than five-fold. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to intensely support this successful US commercialization scale-up.”
For BGF, the largest shareholder in OrganOx and supporter of the company through seven rounds of investment since 2019, the sale marks its largest-ever return generating proceeds of £175m and representing a 10x money multiple on its initial investment and an overall IRR in the region of 69%.
“At a ten-figure valuation, we are incredibly proud to have played a key role in one of the UK’s largest medtech exits,” said Andy Gregory, CEO of BGF. “It reflects a remarkable achievement by the OrganOx team, and we are especially proud that this success is tied directly to a positive impact in patient outcomes. “By combining early and growth-stage investing across multiple sectors, BGF has created the right blend to deliver strong, sustainable and repeatable returns. Our ambition now is for more capital to flow into the UK’s most promising companies — whether through co-investments with international, specialist investors, or domestic sources.”
Perella Weinberg Partners and Piper Sandler served as OrganOx’s financial advisors and Latham & Watkins acted as legal counsel to OrganOx.
Press release: News – OrganOx