Pig-to-human medical transplant centre to be built
13 August 2024
Multi-billion-dollar US-based biotech firm United Therapeutics has announced that it has purchased 32 acres (13 hectares) of land in Minnesota, US, for US$4.5 million to construct what it called a state-of-the-art facility, which will support clinical research on using gene-edited pig organs for human patients with heart and kidney disease.
A pig in the pen. A United Therapeutics’ construction project in Minnesota, US, seeks to build a medical centre for researching pig-to-human organ transplants. (Image: Adobe Stock)
The facility site, which is located outside of Rochester, Minnesota, in Stewartville, is roughly 14 miles (22.5km) south of the world-renowned non-profit academic and research medical centre the Mayo Clinic. While the programme is not currently working with the Mayo Clinic, United Therapeutics noted the proximity helped inform its selection of the site.
Design and build details were not provided, but United Therapeutics said the new centre would be like an existing facility in Virginia, US. That campus is about 77,000 sq ft (7,154m2) and cost around $100 million to construct.
The first pigs are expected to arrive once construction is completed in 2027, the company said.
A United Therapeutics research facility in North Carolina, US. (Image: United Therapeutics)
