A breakthrough organ‑engineering technology first discovered at the University of Minnesota—and long developed by Eden Prairie–based Miromatrix—continues to move forward in Minnesota, even though the company behind it is now owned by Maryland-based United Therapeutics. That momentum is accelerating as United Therapeutics (UT) invests heavily in new xenotransplantation infrastructure in Olmsted County.
UT recently paid $8.57 million for 207 acres of farmland between Stewartville and Rochester, adding to its under‑construction 65,000‑square‑foot pathogen‑free facility in the Schumann Business Park. The Stewartville complex, expected to be completed by the end of May, will raise pigs for heart and kidney xenotransplants—part of UT’s push to commercialize genetically engineered pig organs. The company aims to produce up to 125 transplant‑ready organs per year once operations begin. (Source here.)
This expansion comes less than two years after UT acquired Miromatrix Medical, the Eden Prairie biotech built on a revolutionary organ‑decellularization process invented at the University of Minnesota. That technology—first detailed in Twin Cities Business’ 2016 “Saving Your Bacon” feature—uses a pig organ’s natural vascular system to remove all pig cells and then recellularize the scaffold with human cells. Miromatrix spent years refining the process in Minnesota, partnering with Mayo Clinic, the Texas Heart Institute, and Mount Sinai.
While UT’s xenotransplantation approach differs—using genetically modified pigs rather than recellularized scaffolds—the two technologies now sit under one corporate roof. And both continue to rely on Minnesota expertise, facilities, and research partnerships.
UT’s CEO, Dr. Martine Rothblatt, has said the company hopes to secure FDA approval for pig‑to‑human transplants by the end of the decade. If that happens, Minnesota will again be at the center of a medical breakthrough that began here more than a decade ago—and is still growing here today.
Leave a Reply