Miromatrix Inc., a Minnesota-based biotechnology company, was awarded a $1,970,000 Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance the development of a bioengineered transplantable liver to address the chronic shortage of transplantable livers.
Currently, liver transplantation is the only treatment for End-stage Liver Disease (ESLD), the 8th most frequent cause of death in the United States with over 40,000 deaths annually. Demand for transplantable donor livers continues to exceed the available supply; as a result, only half of the 13,000 wait-listed patients will receive transplants. Miromatrix’s approach to solving the shortage is to bioengineer a transplantable liver utilizing their proprietary perfusion decellularization and recellularization technology.
“We’re thrilled to receive support from the NIDDK and NIH along with additional affirmation of the groundbreaking work we’re doing to develop fully functional transplantable livers and provide more options for the thousands of patients with liver failure who face an uncertain future,” says Dr. Jeff Ross, Miromatrix CEO. “Our mission is to eliminate the liver transplant waiting list and save thousands of lives. The support of this grant brings us one step closer to our goal.”
About Miromatrix
Miromatrix Medical Inc. is a Minnesota-based biotechnology company on a mission to save and drastically improve patients’ lives by eliminating the organ transplant waiting list. Through their proprietary perfusion decellularization and recellularization technology, the company is developing fully implantable human organs including livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts. The company previously developed and commercialized the only liver-derived biological products including MIROMESH® (soft tissue reinforcement) and MIRODERM® (advanced wound care). Miromatrix’s perfusion decellularization and recellularization technology is protected by a series of issued patents and pending patent applications in all major markets worldwide. For more information, visit miromatrix.com.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit nih.gov.
Disclaimer: Research reported in this press release is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under the award number R44DK122894. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
