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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

InVivo Therapeutics Awarded A $2 Million Loan To Fund Expansion And Research In Cambridge, Mass.

10/11/2012
InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp., a firm focused on utilizing polymers as a platform technology to develop treatments that improve function in individuals paralyzed as a result of traumatic spinal cord injury, will expand its research and manufacturing facility in Cambridge, Mass.

MassDevelopment said it "awarded InVivo Therapeutics a $2 million loan from its Emerging Technology Fund to help fund the commercialization of InVivo's groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries and other neurotrauma conditions.

InVivo will use the proceeds from this low cost, 7-year term loan for general working capital purposes and to purchase equipment for the expansion of manufacturing and research capabilities. "As InVivo's business grows, Mass Development said, "the Company expects to substantially increase employment in manufacturing, sales, marketing, clinical, and regulatory positions over the next two years."

"InVivo's treatment of spinal cord injuries typifies the Commonwealth's highly innovative life sciences companies," said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. "We are pleased to provide financing through the Emerging Technology Fund to help support the commercialization of InVivo's technologies."

"We are encouraged by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's continued support of InVivo, which began in 2009 with a $500,000 Accelerator Loan from the Massachusetts Life Science Center when InVivo had only five employees," said InVivo CEO Frank Reynolds. "Now, as we receive a $2 million loan from MassDevelopment, we exceed 30 employees in our new Kendall Square facility. We'll continue to recruit the best and brightest minds in biomaterials and neuroscience. The proceeds from this loan will assist us in advancing multiple neurotrauma products into the clinic, based on our innovative biopolymer scaffolding and hydrogel technologies."

InVivo officials said the firm designs products that protect the spinal cord after injury by mitigating bleeding, inflammation, and further cell death that result from the body's response to trauma. By minimizing these secondary injury processes and supporting subsequent repair and recovery, the body can locally reorganize toward functional recovery through the spared healthy tissue. The company's lead product is a medical device that provides structural support to a damaged spinal cord, sparing tissue from scarring while improving recovery and prognosis.

"Through its 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, the Patrick-Murray Administration has nurtured our life sciences industry in Massachusetts into a world-leader and a key part of our economic recovery," said Greg Bialecki, the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development and MassDevelopment Board Chairman. "Continuing to support our innovation economy is a leading focus in the Administration's long-term economic development plan, and we applaud MassDevelopment's financing of a vibrant, growing business in Massachusetts."

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