Doris Taylor, a researcher at the University created a beating rat heart in a jar and went on to found a company, Miromatrix Medical, Inc., to commercialize the research. Taylor’s breakthrough promised the replacement of human organs with non-transplantable organs harvested and recellularized with cells from the recipient. In effect, recipients would become their own donors.
At the time Miromatrix Medical, Inc. was formed, precious little was known about the structure of the business. Tony Kennedy, writing for the Star Tribune, reports that the University of Minnesota has fired Doris Taylor from the board of Miromatrix. While Taylor continues her research, she has no involvement with the company she founded.
Kennedy reports that the University inserted Rob Cohen, “a manager with 29 years of experience in drug and medical device markets,” as the company’s chief executive and that tension quickly developed between Taylor and Cohen. “Taylor, Cohen, and the U stand to profit—but not equally—if the business prospers,” writes Kennedy. “The U got 28.6 percent of the founding stock and the prospect of royalties. Cohen got a founding stake of at least 24 percent and as much as 35.7 percent along with a salary of US$87,000. Taylor received no salary and the fewest shares, with the potential of up to 35.7 percent of the founding common stock.”
Kennedy reports that Taylor’s input was being ignored, and the team failed to reproduce her lab results, even though the results had been replicated by other teams. Taylor also “felt her questions about the company’s finances and direction were being stonewalled,” according to Kennedy’s report. After raising her questions formally at the company’s July board meeting, Taylor had “been voted off the board by the U and Cohen, which between them controlled a majority of the stock,” reports Kennedy.
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