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Organ Recovery SystemsFounded in 1998, Organ Recovery Systems is a Chicago-area start-up developing technologies and services to improve the quality and quantity of organs, tissues and cells for transplantation. The company is organized into three operating groups: the Medical Devices Group, developing perfusion-based “life support” devices for the preservation, treatment and transport of organs for transplantation; a Perfusion Services Group that helps transplant centers and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) employ proprietary perfusion techniques for evaluation and therapy of donor kidneys prior to transplant; and the Charleston, S.C., Research Center that develops new technologies for cell and tissue cryopreservation and evaluation. More information about Organ Recovery Systems is available at www.organ-recovery.com.IndustryOrgan Recovery Systems’ LifePort™ Kidney Transporter is a high-tech alternative to the conventional method of organ storage and transportation: a cooler filled with ice.LifePort uses perfusion—the gentle pumping of an organ with a patented solution—to preserve and improve the quality of the organ during the critical time between recovery and transplantation. The device addresses the severe organ donation crisis facing our nation. According to the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), approximately 55,000 Americans are waiting to receive kidney transplants. Yet less than 20 percent of these patients may ever receive the organs they need. Machine perfusion with LifePort holds the promise of increasing the organ pool and improving outcomes. A retrospective review of U.S. kidney transplant data indicates that perfused kidneys function better after transplant than statically stored kidneys. If perfusion was the standard of care nationwide, the resulting combination of more organs and improved outcomes could save the healthcare system more than $1 billion annually. Business Challenge- Organ Recovery Systems hired Schwartz Communications in late 2002 to support the launch of its LifePort Kidney Transporter upon receiving FDA clearance. However, the company had to accomplish a number of other public relations goals in the months before the FDA cleared the device in summer of 2003.
- Prior to the LifePort launch, Organ Recovery Systems needed to establish and maintain its credibility among the business, medical and transplantation press. Additionally, it wanted to be positioned as an emerging growth company offering products, services and research and development that addresses a huge market need. The company also needed to highlight its strong management team and extensive clinical research to back its technology.
- In the months following the FDA clearance of the LifePort Kidney Transporter, the PR campaign would focus on helping to drive adoption of the technology and support sales with strategic feature placements.
Schwartz PR StrategySchwartz developed a three-tiered approach to effectively tell the Organ Recovery Systems story.
- Building credibility—The public relations team leveraged the close of Organ Recovery Systems’ $14 million series B funding to demonstrate the viability of its business model. Successfully communicating the company’s latest infusion of capital and outlining how it planned to use the investment to bring LifePort to market would play a critical role in establishing the company’s credibility and in laying the foundation for national media coverage.
- FDA clearance of the LifePort Kidney Transporter—Schwartz designed a broadly focused, national media campaign to launch the LifePort Kidney Transporter at FDA clearance. In addition to distributing a news release that introduced the new technology and explained the scope of the problem, the PR team developed a comprehensive press kit to educate the media about the existing public health crisis due to the shortage of transplantable organs. Schwartz produced a video news release (VNR) that included footage of “a kidney in a cooler” juxtaposed with animation demonstrating how the LifePort works. It also featured interviews with a kidney transplant surgeon, the CEO of an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) and a single mother on the kidney transplant waiting list.
- Expanding national media exposure—Post launch, Schwartz continued to raise awareness of the device among OPOs and transplant centers globally by generating media coverage in major national media. This coverage would be used to lay the foundation for other LifePort devices in late-stage development for the heart, liver and pancreas.
Results- Schwartz established business credibility by generating 20 media placements on the news of Organ Recovery Systems’ $14 million series B funding. Validation of the company’s viability and success reached a crescendo when Schwartz secured CEO David Kravitz a spot on Fast Company's 2004 “Fast 50” list, catapulting him to the list of the nation’s leading entrepreneurs.
- An Associated Press wire story was the coverage highlight of the August 2003 FDA clearance event. It appeared in 357 print and online publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, among others. Broadcast coverage, including VNR pickup, reached many major markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and others.
- Media exposure did not end after FDA clearance. Schwartz earned LifePort a spot in Popular Science's 2004 Best of What’s New Award edition that reached 1.7 million readers. This placement positioned the start-up alongside new products from medical device giants such as Philips Electronics and Medtronic. The coverage generated additional broadcast exposure to 2.5 million viewers on the CBS Early Show when PopSci's editor appeared on the morning show and featured LifePort as one of three new medical advances to watch in 2004. As a result, January 2004 saw more than 32 CBS affiliates include LifePort in segments on medical breakthroughs introduced in 2003.
- Similarly, FOX News Channel included LifePort in a year-end “Year in Health” segment based on the Popular Science story that aired in 26 markets. Schwartz parlayed this national print and broadcast exposure into a syndicated “Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science” segment on LifePort that has aired in eight markets since mid February.
- Most importantly, Schwartz’ PR campaign helped Organ Recovery Systems deploy LifePort to 15 major metropolitan regions around the world in the first six months after it received FDA clearance.
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