Bridge to Life Raises $110 Million in Equity and Debt for VitaSmart Liver Perfusion Rollout

Bridge to Life, a maker of organ preservation solutions and perfusion systems, said on August 12 that it has completed a $110 million financing made up of a Series C equity round and debt. The company did not say how the total splits between equity and debt.

The equity was led by new investor Soleus Capital, with Lauxera Capital Partners and Bridge to Life directors, officers and employees taking part, according to the company's release. The debt came from Soleus Capital Credit Opportunities Fund. Part of the proceeds refinanced the company's credit facility with Perceptive Credit Funds, which Bridge to Life said significantly reduces its outstanding leverage and lowers its interest rate.

Paying for the VitaSmart launch

Most of the money will go to the U.S. launch of the VitaSmart Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) System, used to preserve donor livers before transplantation. Bridge to Life said it will expand its commercial and clinical field organizations and use the working capital to reach every U.S. transplant center. The system received FDA De Novo authorization in January 2026; the company says it is the only hypothermic oxygenated perfusion system the FDA has authorized for use in liver transplantation.

"The VitaSmart launch has outpaced our expectations, as leading academic centers are adopting it rapidly," said Don Webber, chief executive and president. The release cites master service agreements with academic transplant centers, organ procurement organizations and high-volume liver programs, along with repeat orders, as signs of uptake about six months into the launch. It says its commercial and clinical figures are preliminary and unaudited as of July 24, 2026.

According to Medical Device Network, VitaSmart pumps preservation solution continuously through the liver at between 1°C and 10°C, unlike standard cold storage, and the new round brings Bridge to Life's total funding to about $160 million. Bridge to Life acquired the system from its original developer, Italy's Medica SpA, in December 2024, and Duke University Hospital became the first transplant center to implement it, in March, the outlet reported.

Pipeline beyond the liver

The remaining funds will go to a viability assessment tool meant to give surgeons a more objective, science-based measure of whether a donor organ can be used, to preservation and perfusion products for other organs over the next three years, and to next-generation closed systems for organ transport. The company said the viability tool is in development, under investigation and not cleared for commercial sale.

Ben Lund, a partner at Soleus Capital, said: "We led this financing because Bridge to Life pairs an established preservation franchise with a newly FDA-cleared perfusion platform that is already rapidly being adopted in the field, and with a credible pipeline behind it." The established franchise he referred to includes Belzer UW, a cold static preservation solution in Bridge to Life's existing portfolio.

UBS Investment Bank was Bridge to Life's exclusive financial adviser and placement agent, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius was its legal counsel.