Doris Taylor earned international acclaim in 2008 when she and her team at the University of Minnesota
grew a living, beating rat's heart from stem cells in a jar.
Now, the state is betting that a Minneapolis biotech startup can grow that technology into a successful company.
The state Agricultural and Economic Development Board
announced an agreement last week to loan $250,000 in seed capital to Miromatrix Medical, a six-month old U of M spinoff. Under the terms, the state's loan is to be matched by private investors.
Miromatrix has an exclusive licensing agreement with the university to commercialize the technology, which might one day be used to grow human replacement organs.
Miromatrix CEO Robert Cohen said in an e-mail that he is pleased with the state's support, but that as a "matter of corporate policy" stopped commenting publicly several months ago.
"Our preference is to let the ultimate success of our products speak for itself," Cohen said.
Cohen and Taylor did
speak with MedCity News in January, when they commented on the incredibly high expectations many have for the company and its significance to the state's biotech industry.
The Ag Board has traditionally funded the expansion of manufacturing firms but its scope is broadening to include emerging high-tech businesses, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Source: Department of Employment and Economic Development
Writer:
Dan Haugen