Project Expense

An investment of approximately $26 million is necessary for Spring Point Project to get through Phase I/II clinical trials where we will learn the answer to how well porcine islet cells work to reverse diabetes in humans.

To date approximately $13 million has been raised in our efforts to pursue the answer to this primary and vital question.

Nearly half of the funds are needed to build and operate the animal housing facilities, which, in order to prevent disease, require very complex and specific air handling, water sterilization, shower in/out for personnel, and autoclaving of food and materials. In addition to this infrastructure, personnel costs include professional consultants in a variety of areas as well as for the administration of the facility and the project as a whole.

Spring Point Project is located at three sites: 1) the DRWF Islet Resource Facility in western Wisconsin, where the intensive production of animals for Phase I/II clinical trials is underway; 2) the Riverside Multiplier Unit (RMU) in eastern South Dakota, where pigs are initially housed and reproduced in a high health status environment; and 3) the headquarters in Minneapolis, where clerical and administrative operations are housed.