TransMedics Group Doc Check Takeaways: Competition, OPTN Modernization, and Initial Thoughts on Kidney

Research evidence excerpt

TransMedics Group Doc Check Takeaways: Competition, OPTN Modernization, and Initial Thoughts on Kidney

o double-digit

growth following four quarters of decline.

• Longer-term, the implications of the Modernization Initiative were viewed as

likely to be positive for TransMedics. This was already broadly understood, but

forcing a greater emphasis on utilizing DCD and other expanded criteria organs

should naturally favor TransMedics and other technologies that enable these

procedures. OPOs that have been slower to adopt newer technologies will be forced

to adopt in order to maintain and improve their status should scrutiny increase.

Physicians were more skeptical when it came to vertical integration into organ

allocation, however, and believe partnering with OPOs would be a more realistic

avenue for TransMedics to continue expanding its presence in the market.

• We also discussed the unique needs of the kidney market and the features an

OCS solution would need to succeed here. The opportunity to use marginal organs

isn’t as obvious as the quality of kidneys can decline more significantly with age

even without comorbidities, especially when compared to relatively hardy organs

like the liver. The OPO would be the end-user here, not the transplant center, so the

pricing strategy would likely have to change for what could be a more price-

conscious buyer as well. Extended preservation of kidneys is already standard

practice using cold perfusion pumps, but a warm perfusion system could improve

assessment of organ viability by simulating the production of urine and replenishing

adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

• Concluding with 2Q26 trends, volume data for April and May points to

continued moderation in Liver growth balanced against a reacceleration in

Heart.