SC Launch Portfolio Company, Bridge to Life (BTL), Announces New Product Availability

October 12, 2009

New product expands BTL’s market position for its organ storage solution business

COLUMBIA, SC – October 12, 2009 – SC Launch Portfolio Company, Bridge to Life (BTL), a development and commercialization-stage biomedical company, is pleased to announce the availability of a new product offering to the human organ procurement and research communities.
 
Belzer UW Cold Storage Solution, the leading brand of cold storage solution for donor organs, is now available in a 2-liter bag product. It will be added to the company’s current product list that includes 1-liter bags of Belzer solution and 1-liter bags of Machine Perfusion Belzer Solution.

Belzer UW Cold Storage Solution was previously only available in 1-liter bags. Since the organ procurement process requires several liters of solution, organ procurement professionals and transplant surgeons had to use several bags for each procedure. To remedy this, the Belzer UW 2-liter bag will be commercially available in cases of five, 2-liter bags.

“Since we first launched our products earlier this year, we’ve kept in tune with our customers’ needs and with the organ procurement process in general. We pride ourselves in being proactive to these needs. The 2-liter bag represents the third innovation we have been able to introduce to the marketplace in less than one year,” said John Bruens, Bridge to Life’s chief commercial and business development officer.

Since Bridge to Life first launched its commercial enterprise out of the University of South Carolina Technology Incubator in Columbia, the company has received FDA approval for room-temperature storage and shipping of Belzer UW Cold Storage Solution, and received FDA approval to have the labeled requirement for filtering every bag of Belzer solution before use removed.

“Providing innovative new products to their market is the cornerstone of success in any technology industry, and that is especially true in the biotech/medical product sector. We congratulate Bridge to Life on its research success and introduction of the 2-liter bag of Belzer solution. Bridge to Life is an exciting member of the USC Technology Incubator family.  We look forward to their continued growth,” said Joel Stevenson, executive director of the USC Technology Incubator.

Earlier this year, Bridge to Life announced that it would invest in South Carolina by establishing a new global headquarters facility in Columbia. The company stated it plans to invest $45 million in the venture and expects to create 70 new jobs.

The company is also pursuing other advances in the organ procurement, storage and organ viability market segment. Bridge to Life’s liposomal ATP technology will increase the amount of time an organ can be stored, improve the overall number of viable organs that can be procured and significantly improve the overall success of human organ transplantation surgeries.

“We are pleased that Bridge to Life has achieved another important milestone to once again improve its offering and advance 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 Bridge to Life
Bridge to Life Ltd. is a development-stage biotechnology company formed to advance the science of organ preservation and to develop, manufacture and sell medical technologies.  The company is a leading manufacturer of specialty medical solutions, offering services and products to the organ transplant community, as well as to physicians and hospitals.

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.