WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Grant totaling $769,681 to Novo Biosciences, Inc. in Bar Harbor. The grant will support research on developing treatment methods for healing damaged heart tissue caused by heart attacks.

“Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America and affects thousands of Mainers every year. It is critical that we continue to support research that tests new and innovative therapies to prevent heart attacks and treat the damage they cause,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “By further advancing the science behind cardiovascular disease and healing mechanisms, we can help save lives and improve the health of our communities.”

Novo Biosciences, a spin-off company from MDI Biological Laboratory, specializes in research on regenerative medicine that enhances healing abilities. This project will build on Novo Biosciences groundbreaking work on isolating regenerative compounds found in Zebrafish and will investigate therapies that stimulate heart tissue regeneration following a heart attack, with the goal of developing a treatment that expedites recovery after cardiovascular damage.

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is administered by the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NHLBI promotes the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases by supporting research, education, and collaboration in these fields.

###