The Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator (MnBA) links discovery, pilot scale-up, market/regulatory validation, and workforce development with industry, government, and academic partners — moving technologies from proof-of-concept to deployment and economic impact.
The Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (BBIC) is now the Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator, a name that better conveys our full spectrum focus—from fundamental discovery through translation to commercialization—while highlighting Minnesota leadership. The change underscores our commitment to solving complex problems and delivering real-world impact for people, industry, and communities statewide.
MnBA’s model is an integrated pipeline that accelerates technologies from discovery to deployment. Infrastructure, talent, and applied R&D from across the University of Minnesota flow into a commercialization-focused accelerator emphasizing validation, prototyping, pilot testing, and partner engagement. Rapid learning, shared pilot-plant access, and coordinated support for IP, funding, and workforce reduce risk. The result: faster translation.
The Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator Seed Grants are delivering early results. The six seed grants awarded in 2024 have led to:
☑️ $1.1M external funding leveraged from our seed funds.
☑️ One publication
☑️ Startup formation and customer discovery through NSF I-Corps
Learn more about the Seed Grant Program
The 2025 Seed Grant teams are participating in the program, where they can access shared pilot-plant capacity, market and regulatory expertise, and tech-transfer support.
As we advance projects to characterization, production pilots, or licensing, success will be tracked via:
The University of Minnesota’s Research & Innovation Office (RIO) and the Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator (MnBA) are pleased to announce the 2025/6 awardees of the Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator Seed
