Benzinga | Aug 11, 2021 07:38AM EDT

Miromatrix Medical Reports Strategic Investors Were Involved In Series C Financing Following IPO: Baxter, CareDx, DaVita; No Size Of Investment Disclosed

Miromatrix Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:MIRO), a life sciences company pioneering a novel technology for bioengineering fully transplantable organs to help save patients' lives and improve quality of life around the world, announced strategic investors involved in its Series C financing, which was followed by its June 24th IPO.

The Company outlined clinical initiatives and operational expansions as part of its investment plan for 2021 and 2022 focused on their liver and kidney programs. The additional funding will help accelerate Miromatrix' progress towards initiating a clinical trial of its External Liver Assist Product. The trial, which is expected to begin in the second half of 2022, will assess the function of a bioengineered liver in humans via an external application. It will serve as an important milestone in the ongoing research efforts to develop fully transplantable livers and kidneys, addressing the enormous unmet need for thousands of patients in the U.S. each year.

The Series C round was led by the venture capital investment arm of Baxter (NYSE:BAX), with participation by CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) and DaVita (NYSE:DVA) as strategic investors in the Company. DaVita originally invested in Miromatrix in 2018, leading its Series B-2 round, and it also provided bridge financing for the Series C round.

"We are excited to have strategic support from Baxter, DaVita, and CareDx, all of whom recognize the potential in our bioengineered organ technology and want to change the future of transplantation," said Jeff Ross, Ph.D., CEO of Miromatrix. "Their support, alongside our recent public offering, brings us closer to our goal of saving and improving patients' livesand ultimately eliminating the organ transplant waitlist."

According to data from the American Transplant Foundation, an estimated 114,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and more than half will die due to a lack of available organs. Miromatrix is currently focused on developing bioengineered livers and kidneys but plans to apply its patented perfusion decellularization and recellularization technology to bioengineer lungs, hearts, pancreases, and other vital organs for patients in need.

"Innovation is at the forefront of our mission to save and sustain the lives of patients with kidney disease across their care journey, which includes chronic kidney disease management through dialysis and to transplant," said Lee Ann Schuette, general manager of peritoneal dialysis, Baxter's Renal Care business. "By investing in potentially transformative kidney care options, we aim to accelerate the growth of innovations that address the unmet needs of kidney patients, so they can live their best lives."

Over 100,000 patients are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) each year in the U.S., with approximately 550,000 patients requiring chronic dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. In addition, according to the Journal of the American Society of Nephrologists, more than 40,000 Americans die waiting for a kidney transplant each year due to the chronic shortage of kidneys. Miromatrix, Baxter, DaVita, and CareDx share a similar mission of providing patients with life-saving and sustaining therapies.

"Establishing partnerships with innovative health care companies seeking to improve the lives of patients with kidney failure is core to our work at DaVita," said Javier Rodriguez, CEO of DaVita. "We're energized to be deepening our collaboration with Miromatrix at this critical juncture for the company and shaping the future of kidney care together."

"Increasing organ availability through innovation aligns with our mission to improve long-term outcomes for patients across the transplant journey," said Reg Seeto, President and CEO of CareDx. "This collaboration with Miromatrix is perfectly in line with CareDx's vision to be the leading partner in the transplant ecosystem."

Miromatrix is a 2019 KidneyX Redesign Dialysis Phase I award recipient from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Nephrology to further the development of innovative solutions that can prevent, diagnose, and/or treat kidney diseases. The Company was also awarded a 2019 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to advance the development of a bioengineered transplantable liver to address the chronic shortage of transplantable livers.