Southwest Michigan First Portfolio Firm Gets Further Funding
The Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center has completed a $250,000 investment in RealBio Technology Inc. The BRCC, located in Western Michigan University’s Research and Technology Park, is charged with investing in and growing early stage companies in Michigan.
RealBio, based in Kalamazoo, recently established operations in the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center. The company is commercializing leading edge cell and tissue culture technology that facilitates the growth, expansion, differentiation and collection of human and non-human cells. The company is part of the Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund portfolio managed by Southwest Michigan First, the economic development corporation committed to jobs and wealth creation in the Kalamazoo region.
“This investment recognizes the business- and job creating potential of our revolutionary stem cell research technology,” said RealBio president and CEO Paul Neeb.
“We applaud the commitment that RealBio has shown to the Southwest Michigan life science community in such a short time," said Ron Kitchens, general partner of the SWMF Life Sciences Fund and Southwest Michigan First CEO. "We look for more exciting announcements to come from this young company.”
RealBio is developing a new generation of three-dimensional cell culture technology. The company’s technology is based on ground-breaking research conducted at Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM) through a $5 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant. This patent pending technology is exclusively licensed to RealBio.
The RealBio Culture System enables researchers to study the growth and development of human primary cells and tissues over a long period of time. The initial market for the technology will be to generate a consistent supply of stem cells for research purposes and the formation of tissues for in-vitro toxicology.
