The Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund (CBIF) has invested $500,000 in New Haven biotech firm MIFCOR Inc., according to Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public venture capital and lending arm.
MIFCOR is developing a biologic therapeutic to reduce the irreversible ischemic damage caused from a heart attack or other invasive cardiac procedures. CBIF approved $500,000 to further advance the company’s preclinical work through the next set of in vivo studies.
“MIFCOR has shown tremendous potential in the area of therapeutics for tissue ischemia,” Margaret Cartiera, vice president and fund manager at CI, said in a news release. “As we fund this project and continue to review others, we are beginning to see real progress with our earliest applicants. The funding we are providing is transforming early prototypes and technologies into commercializable products with more robust data supporting their advancement. …”
CBIF — a $200 million fund, which will make investments over the next 10 years in the form of grants, equity investments and loans — has awarded $6 million to support 12 bioscience innovations since January 2014. The fund’s objective is to speed up the commercialization of bioscience breakthroughs.
