Eden Prairie's Miromatrix becomes latest Minnesota company to file for an IPO

Eden Prairie-based life sciences company Miromatrix Medical filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for an initial public offering of stock.

Miromatrix's ambition is to eliminate the waiting list for organ transplants by developing bioengineered organs, including livers and kidneys, for human transplant.

The company made an S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, but it did not disclose the amount it was looking to raise, the number of shares to be offered or a potential price range for the shares to be offered. It did apply to make MIRO its stock symbol.

Proceeds of the offering would be used for further research and development, a new facility, to repay debt and general corporate purposes.

Miromatrix is the latest Minnesota company to register for or complete an IPO in the last two years in a market for new offerings that has favored health and technology companies.

On May 19, Bright Health Group also registered with the SEC for an IPO. The size of that potential offering also has yet to be disclosed. Earlier this year, Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Edina-based Agiliti Inc. and Bloomington-based SkyWater Technology Inc. all successfully completed IPOs.

In 2020, Wayzata-based Trean Insurance Group and Minneapolis-based Jamf Holding Corp. also completed IPOs.

The emerging growth company was started in 2009 with technology licensed from the University of Minnesota. It has raised money a variety of ways since.

Most recently, on May 3, the company completed a private placement of 2.7 million shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock for $20 million. In March, it received $6 million in bridge financing, and in July 2018 it raised $15.7 million in Series B-2 funding.

The largest shareholders in the company are Baxter Healthcare Corp. and Cheshire MD Holdings, an affiliate of DaVita Inc.

The company has developed two Food and Drug Administration-cleared products. MiroDerm and MiroFlex (formerly known as MiroMesh) are used in treating wounds and soft tissue reinforcement. Those businesses were subsequently spun off so it could concentrate on whole organ development.

Miromatrix hopes to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study in late 2023 or early 2024 for its implantable liver and first-in-human clinical trials in late 2023 or early 2024 for its implantable kidney.

​The company is led by Jeff Ross, who has been chief executive officer of Miromatrix since 2017. Ross was vice president of product development from 2010 to 2017. Prior to Miromatrix, Ross worked at other health technology companies including Guidant and Athersys.