A medical technology company founded on Oregon State University (OSU) intellectual property has become the first OSU spinout to go public, raising nearly $278 million in its initial public offering.
The almost 10.3 million shares in Outset Medical bore an opening price of $27 on the Nasdaq and saw their value double in two days.
Founded in 2003 as Home Dialysis Plus and securing an option to OSU intellectual property the following year, Outset Medical now makes the Tablo system of hemodialysis — blood pumped out of the body to an artificial kidney machine.
During and after the company’s founding, multiple faculty from OSU’s colleges of Engineering and Science served as researchers and consultants, including Brian Paul, Goran Jovanovic, Todd Miller, Vince Remcho and the late Richard Peterson, on the core Oregon State IP: microchannel dialyzers and a microchannel heat exchanger.
Oregon State and the company transformed the option deal into a full IP license in 2008, and between 2010 and 2018 the company secured private investments of more than $300 million.
Outset continues to contract with Oregon State on the refinement of the heat exchanger technology.
“It’s essentially a small-scale, efficient, water purification technology that would allow the use of tap water in dialysis as opposed to gallons and gallons of pre-purified water, expanding capabilities in developing countries,” said Brian Wall, associate vice president of research, innovation and economic impact at Oregon State. “They are now targeting and focusing investment in it over the next year to see if we can get it to a price point that works for the market. Outset is a terrific example of the kind of company OSU is proud to partner with, one that improves peoples’ lives while driving the creation of jobs, truly maximizing our impact.”
