Local medical technology firm gets state innovation grant

September 7, 2026 - 00:46

Perfusio Corp., a medical technology company based in Greenville, has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the state's innovation fund. The money is meant to help small businesses push their products from the lab into real-world clinical use.

The company is working on a new type of perfusion system, which is used to keep organs viable during transplant procedures. Their device aims to improve how donor organs are preserved and transported, potentially extending the window of time between harvest and surgery. That could make more organs available for patients on waiting lists.

State officials said the grant program targets early-stage firms with high growth potential. It is not a loan, so the company does not have to pay it back. Instead, the state expects the funding to create jobs and attract further private investment down the road.

Perfusio's leadership said the grant will go toward refining the prototype and running initial safety tests. They also plan to hire two additional engineers in the coming months. The company has been operating out of a shared lab space at the local biotech incubator since 2022.

This is the second round of funding the firm has received from the state. Earlier this year, they won a smaller feasibility grant that helped them build the current version of the device. The new award is part of a broader push by state lawmakers to support medical innovation outside the major research hubs.

No timeline has been announced for clinical trials, but the company says it hopes to start human studies within the next two years if the testing goes as planned.