Stewartville awarded $1 million state grant for planned pig-to-human transplant center

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded a southeastern Minnesota city a $1 million grant to support the state’s first pig-to-human transplant center.

Stewartville will use the funding, announced Monday, to construct streets and public utilities around the Schumann Business Park, the future home of United Therapeutics’ specialized research farm.

United, a biotechnology company that harvests pig organs for human heart and kidney transplants, plans to invest at least $75 million into the 70,000-square-foot facility, according to the announcement from DEED.

The transplant center, set to begin operations in 2027, will be the second of its kind for United as it looks to ramp up clinical trials of xenotransplantation, the practice of animal-to-human transplants.

Once up and running, United plans to have up to 200 pigs on site and employ 22 people. The company is also planning three additional phases that could create an additional 300 jobs, DEED said.

United is responsible for engineering organs for the first-ever pig-to-human heart and kidney transplants — with the latest successful transplant into a living recipient taking place in November at NYU Langone Health.

Company representatives said the Stewartville site, on 32 acres of land 10 minutes south of Rochester, was chosen because of the region’s skilled health care, biotech and agricultural workforce; proximity to Rochester International Airport; and the presence of Mayo Clinic.