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The TransMedics Portable Organ Preservation System - POPS - Keeps Organs Alive on the Way to Transplant Recipients

WOBURN, Mass. - January 27, 2004 - TransMedics, Inc., a medical device company strategically positioned to address patients with end-stage organ failure, announced today that it has raised $27.6 million in Series B financing. The TransMedics Portable Organ Preservation System (POPS(TM)) enables the preservation, resuscitation and transport of organs in their functioning state for up to 24 hours and represents a potential breakthrough in the field of organ transplantation.

The investment round was co-led by Flagship Ventures, 3i US and CB Health Ventures, and also included significant commitments from Sherbrooke Capital, Posco BioVentures and Novel Bioventures as well as from Series A investors Alta Partners and CDP Capital Technology Ventures.

"This financing exemplifies the high level of confidence our investors have in the POPS technology," said Dr. Waleed Hassanein, President and CEO of TransMedics, Inc. "It will allow TransMedics to complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for our POPS system."

As part of this financing round, Ed Kania of Flagship Ventures, Allan Ferguson of 3i, Rick Blume of CB Health Ventures, John Giannuzzi of Sherbrooke Capital, and Stanley N. Lapidus, President & CEO of Helicos BioSciences Corp., have joined TransMedics' board of directors. Ed Kania also serves as the company's Chairman.

"TransMedics has a strong management team, as well as tremendous support from the thought leaders in organ transplantation," noted Ed Kania, Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Flagship Ventures. "With this latest round of financing, TransMedics is well positioned to commercialize its transforming technology."

"Today, more than 160,000 patients are on the waiting list for organ donations," said Allan Ferguson, Managing Director with 3i. "We are confident that TransMedics' Portable Organ Preservation System will significantly expand the organ donor pool. By minimizing the need for kidney dialysis and extended hospital stays, POPS also helps to reduce overall healthcare expenditures for end-stage organ failure."

CB Health Ventures' Co-Founder and General Partner Rick Blume concurs, "TransMedics has developed a technical solution to improve both the quality of the transplanted organ and long term cost efficiency of transplantation through potentially reducing the risk of organ failure due to injuries sustained during preservation by utilizing the current cold preservation techniques. It is better for the providers and the patient in need of the transplanted organ. The success of this venture will have a tremendous impact on the futures of those patients, and on the future of organ transplant."

"POPS gives us the opportunity to explore new venues in donor organ resuscitation previously unthinkable," said Dr. Robert Kormos, Professor of Surgery, Director, Artificial Heart Program and Cardiothoracic Transplantation and Medical Director, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "I feel that this opens doors to the possibility of non-heart beating donor organ recovery as well as drastically reducing the incidence of primary graft dysfunction in donor organs," said Kormos.

About TransMedics, Inc.

TransMedics is a medical device company strategically positioned to improve outcomes for patients with end-stage organ failure. Today, these patients confront a serious shortage of organs compounded by clinical outcomes from organ transplantation that are often suboptimal, due to current methods of organ preservation. The current state-of-the-art system for preserving and transporting critically needed organs is essentially a plastic bag in a picnic cooler filled with ice. This crude approach limits the time and distance that organs can travel from donor to recipient, prevents surgeons from evaluating the health of an organ before implanting it, and contributes to post-transplant complications.

By contrast, TransMedics POPS(TM) provides a life-support system for organs en route to transplant recipients. Kept perfused with warm, oxygenated blood and in a normal functioning state, the organs can travel further and arrive healthier. Moreover, the receiving surgeon can assess the organ's functional status using monitoring equipment built into the device. The POPS(TM) technology can represent a breakthrough advance in transplantation, due to the system's inherent ability to tap into the existing underutilized donor pool while improving clinical outcomes. The Company is planning clinical trials required to demonstrate the safety and clinical efficacy of the POPS(TM) system to obtain FDA approval.

About Flagship Ventures

Flagship Ventures is an entrepreneurship and venture capital firm that invests in and develops companies in the life science and information/communications technology sectors. With a team of 23 professionals representing a balance of venture investment, entrepreneurial and growth management experience, Flagship currently manages over $600 million in funds on behalf of its institutional investors. The firm was founded in 1999 and is based in Cambridge, MA with a West Coast office in Alameda, CA. For further information on Flagship and its active portfolio of over 40 high potential ventures, please visit (www.flagshipventures.com).

About 3i

3i is a leading international venture capital company with U.S. offices in Menlo Park, CA and Waltham, MA. Operating since 1945, 3i has invested worldwide over $26 billion, including co-investment funds, with a total staff of 800 employees operating out of over 30 offices in 14 countries. 3i leverages this worldwide presence to add value to its portfolio companies and investment partners. In the United States, 3i concentrates on early and late stage technology investments in companies with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Outside the USA, 3i invests broadly in buyouts, growth capital and venture capital.

Since opening its US businesses in 1999, 3i has become one of the most active early and late stage VCs in the US. Recent investments in early stage companies include Neoguide Systems, DAFCA, SiGe Semiconductors, Cometa Networks, Bitfone, Knowmadic, Sonim and OmniGuide. 3i has been equally active on the late stage, with recent investments in Skystream Networks, Merchant e-Solutions, Placeware, AppShop, Top Layer and SCP Global Technologies. Visit 3i and its portfolio at (www.3ius.com).

About CB Health Ventures

CB Health Ventures currently manages $150 Million to make private equity investments in emerging health and medical companies in which the Partners are able to help achieve success in their development, sales and growth. CB Health Ventures focuses exclusively in health and medical entrepreneurial firms and has investment in several other local firms including Exact Sciences, US Genomics, BioTrove. Other recent investments include Zonare, GeneOhm, Skylight Systems, CareFx and Morphotek. CB Health Ventures enjoys close relationships with numerous large health systems, several large managed care organizations, and a cadre of other resources which can prove helpful to emerging medical companies like TransMedics. Please visit our web site at (www.health-ventures.com).

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