FluidForm gets investment from Hackensack Meridian Health

Hackensack Meridian Health and its Bear’s Den innovation program have invested in FluidForm, which recreates human tissue for drug discovery, surgical repair, and organ donation.

The investment, announced Jan. 11, will enable Massachusetts-based FluidForm to make advancements, including collaborating on preclinical work in 2022.

“This is an exciting concept, with lots of therapeutic potential,” said Hackensack Meridian Health Chief Executive Officer Robert Garrett in a prepared statement. “These are the kinds of strategic investments that have the potential to help us transform health care for our communities and beyond.”

FluidForm has been growing rapidly and recently accomplished several key milestones. It established a pilot biofabrication line outside of Boston, receiving grants from both the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation for foundational work on key programs, and collaborating with multiple top life science companies.

“As we continue to advance our leading tissue applications, clinical input and partnership are a key element of our successful growth. We are excited to work with the truly outstanding group of clinical and research experts at Hackensack Meridian Health,” FluidForm co-founder and CEO Mike Graffeo said in a prepared statement.

This investment in Fluid Form is Hackensack Meridian Health’s sixth through the Bear’s Den, its innovation program which seeks to drive medical science forward by supporting strategic candidates in biotech and pharma.

Bear’s Denlaunched in 2017 and features a panel of experts including Garrett, leading physicians, key network executives, venture capitalists, and patent attorneys who together regularly to vet proposals from entrepreneurs.

“At Hackensack Meridian Health, we have identified regenerative medicine as a key focus area where we bring unique expertise and experience,” said Dr. Ihor Sawczuck, chief research officer and president of Hackensack Meridian Health’s Northern Region in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled to invest in and collaborate with FluidForm across their portfolio of tissue applications in novel drug discovery and medical devices.”