The Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has received a $250,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to jumpstart construction of a new "factory" to produce engineered human organs and tissues.
The specialized facility is to incorporate strict good manufacturing practices (GMPs) required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the therapies produced through use of the university's world-renowned regenerative medicine technologies. Output from the facility is initially expected to help wounded soldiers.
The Wake Forest institute was picked by the U.S. Department of Defense to co-lead the new Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a multi-institutional consortium of research centers. The group's goal is to create tissues for burns and other wounds, craniofacial reconstruction and limb reconstruction that will aid soldiers' rehabilitation.
"The GMP facility will enhance economic development in the Piedmont Triad region by helping to advance the work of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which is considered an integral factor in drawing private sector business to Piedmont Triad Research Park," said Dale Hall, the bank's Triad president.