Miromatrix is developing fully implantable human organs, including livers and kidneys, to address the shortage of transplantable organs. The company uses a proprietary perfusion decellularization and recellularization process and holds issued patents with pending applications in major markets. Its stated ambition is to eliminate the need for an organ transplant waiting list by increasing organ availability. Miromatrix entered into a strategic relationship with CareDx, which announced a minority investment and an R&D collaboration using CareDx technology. The articles do not disclose financing amounts or operating metrics. Intellectual property protection and collaborative R&D are positioned as central to the company’s near-term plans. Miromatrix Medical is developing bioengineered transplantable livers by stripping cells from pig organs to leave a collagen scaffold and then recellularizing that scaffold with a patient’s cells. The underlying technology was first developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota. Miromatrix currently markets two medical devices: Miromesh, used to reinforce soft tissue in plastic and reconstructive surgery, and Miroderm, used for wound management. Combined those two products generated about $1.75 million in 2018 and about $1.2 million in 2017. The company has stated it could begin testing its bioengineered organs in humans as early as the end of next year. Earlier this year Miromatrix spun off part of its business into Reprise Biomedical; Reprise launched with roughly $12.5 million in private funding and now manages Miromesh and Miroderm. Miromatrix is built on Dr. Doris Taylor’s de-cellularization research and aims long term to create human organs using that scaffold technology. In the near term the company is prioritizing commercialization of a biomesh product targeted at hernia repair and breast reconstruction, with a planned launch in a couple of years. After the biomesh launch, Miromatrix plans to pursue additional applications of its technology for the liver and heart. Financially, the company recently raised $2.05M and also benefits from $500,000 in nondilutive state loans, a $150,000 NSF SBIR grant, and a $175,000 strategic investment from Johnson & Johnson. Lab work for the first product is being done at a Glencoe, Minnesota facility the company moved into in October. The company is two years old, led by CEO Robert Cohen with Dr. Jeff Ross as vice president of product development, and counts former governor Tim Pawlenty as a board member. Headcount is small: Miromatrix has a full-time senior product development engineer, a contract senior scientist (partially funded by the SBIR grant), and plans to hire a lab technician soon.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Oct 2019