SC Launch Portfolio Company, Bridge to Life, Achieves FDA Labeling Approval

Process Further Enhances Organ Transplant Technologies for Patients

COLUMBIA, SC – August 3, 2009 – SC Launch Portfolio Company, Bridge to Life (BTL), a development stage biomedical company, is pleased to announce a significant FDA approval milestone to its Belzer UW® cold storage solution. BTL obtained approval this month for a label change to its product, which removes the requirement to filter each bag of the solution. Two to six liters of solution are needed to prepare an organ for transplant, and the need to filter each liter added unnecessary steps to a time-sensitive process.  BTL’s Belzer UW Cold Storage solution is considered the “gold standard” for human organ procurement, storage and shipping.

Bridge to Life’s Chief Commercial Officer, John Bruens, said, “This label change will save organ procurement organizations (OPOs) time and money, and is another example of Bridge to Life’s commitment to the organ transplant community and to the advancement of transplant technologies.” 

In addition to removal of the filtering requirement, other significant improvements have been spearheaded by Bridge to Life recently, including room-temperature shipping and storage. Since Belzer UW was first commercialized in the US in 1984, it had been an FDA label requirement that the product be shipped and stored under refrigeration. This resulted in increased costs, waste, and other logistical issues.  Subsequently, Bridge to Life petitioned the FDA for approval of room-temperature shipping/storage, which was granted in April.  Of this recent approval, Nancy Kay, CEO of LifePoint, the non-profit OPO in South Carolina, said, “The ability to store BTL’s Belzer UW at room temperature is a huge benefit to our organization. Not only does it free up refrigeration space, but it also gives us the ability to order fewer times per year and stock a much larger inventory, which leads to additional cost savings.  Plus, we no longer need to drop everything to load the refrigerators when our solution arrives, which was very disruptive and expensive.”

Bridge to Life, headquartered at the University of South Carolina Technology Center, is one of the newest SC Launch Portfolio Companies.  BTL was founded on the principles that good science and a strong commercial focus lead to advancements in the medical industry.  BTL is working closely with transplant surgeons and OPOs to meet the common goal of providing transplantable organs to all that need them.

“There is so much being done to advance the world of organ transplants, and we are very pleased to be doing our part,” said Steve Schweighardt, Bridge to Life CEO. “But we won’t stop here.  There are still so many other improvements and innovations that need to be investigated.  Bridge to Life looks forward to the day when everyone who needs an organ transplant is able to receive this life-saving care.”

“We are pleased at the way that Bridge to Life is both improving its offering and advancing health care quality,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO. “They are among a group of about 30 bio and life sciences-based SC Launch companies that are making important strides in knowledge-based economic development in South Carolina.”

SCRA has provided funding and support for more than 130 new knowledge-based start-ups in South Carolina since the inception of its SC Launch program in April, 2006.

For more information about Bridge to Life, please visit: http://www.bridgetolifesolutions.com.

About SC Launch

SC Launch, an SCRA collaboration, assists entrepreneurial start-up companies with up-front counseling, seed-funding, and access to a powerful resource network. The SC Launch mission is to help generate knowledge economy jobs in South Carolina, enhance the state’s quality of life and provide opportunity for all South Carolinians in the new economy. 

About SCRA

SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in South Carolina, Ohio and in the Washington, D.C. area. SCRA collaborates to advance technology, providing technology-based solutions with assured outcomes to industry, government, and research universities in SC, the US and globally.