TechTown's MitoStem wins $200K stem cell research grant

Stem cells are paying off for TechTown, or at least for one of its start-ups, now that MitoStem has nailed down a $200,000 federal grant.

The Detroit-based firm, originally called TechTown Ventures, plans to make its first hire this spring. It expects to have a staff of three by the end of year and seven employees by the end of 2011.

"As soon as we have the money in the bank we will hire a lab person," says James Eliason, president and chief scientific officer with MitoStem.

MitoStem specializes in stem cell research, focusing on regenerative medicine, or the way stem cells can reproduce themselves. The six-figure grant is a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health, which received the money from the federal stimulus program. The grant will be used to optimize its stem cell technology developed at Wayne State University.

The technology promises to have an impact on a variety of diseases. The idea is for the stems to help a patient's cells reproduce and replace diseased or damaged tissues. It was originally developed by Jianjun Wang, an associate professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University.

"So you can take a skin cell of a blood cell and turn it into a cell with all of the properties of any other cell in the body," Eliason says.

Source: James Eliason, president and chief scientific officer with MitoStem
Writer: Jon Zemke

TechTown's MitoStem wins $200K stem cell research grant

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