Wake Forest University program grants $2.5 million to biotechnology companies

A federal program operating out of Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine has granted $2.5 million to a handful of laboratories on the cutting edge of medical technology. 

The grants are from the the Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine, or PTRME and serve as one in a series of steps to make the Triad a hub for biotechnology research and development. 

PTRME uses funds from the National Science Foundation, a government agency, to foster economic development in the medical sector. 

PTRME has granted millions of dollars to companies whose work sounds like science fiction. 

Projects from the grant recipients include implants capable of repairing tendons, a gel that promotes quicker tissue regeneration and the development of an organoid helping to battle the spread of cancer in parts of the body. 

Some of these companies are located across the country in states like New York and Arizona. According to the release from PTRME, the grants serve as an incentive to move to or set up new locations in the Triad. 

PTRME is internationally recognized as a pioneer in regenerative medicine. In 1999, Wake Forest staff succeeded in engineering laboratory-grown organs and transplanting them into seven children with spina bifida. 
 

Santiago Ochoa covers healthcare for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. Follow him on X and Instagram: @santi8a98