OUR STORY
After a series of major discoveries within MNPRO the founding team spun-out Priogen from the University of Minnesota in 2022, specializing in next-generation prion diagnostics. Priogen’s innovative team includes experts in molecular biology, public health, biosecurity, and nanotechnology.
Priogen is uniquely positioned to rapidly acquire a diverse customer base, ranging from hunters, ranchers, butchers, and state agencies concerned about CWD, scrapie, and BSE, to medical schools, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies wanting to monitor CJD prion exposure risk and conduct clinical trial enrollment for Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Parkinson’s drug trials. Multiple discoveries made by our scientists resulted in the development of next-generation prion diagnostic assays that leverage nanotechnology. Our team continues to advance these technologies toward commercialization.
Our entry into the prion diagnostic testing market focuses on the introduction of the PrioSense product family to a diverse customer base, establishing consumer recognition and confidence. PrioSense products consist of a variety of mail-in kits for tissue and environmental CWD surveillance.
A promise made
In February 2019, we promised Minnesota state legislators that we would develop a functional prototype of a rapid CWD test in three years. We made this promise having only an idea, no staff, and no lab. Legislation funding our idea was passed with bipartisan support, and five months later, in July 2019, the state invested $1.8M in our University of Minnesota team.
A promise kept
In October of 2020, less than 8 months after we opened our lab doors, and despite the pandemic, we made a discovery that would fundamentally alter the proteopathy diagnostic landscape. Our team galvanized around this discovery, and we spent four months refining, testing, and re-testing what would ultimately become our flagship next-generation prion diagnostic assay, MN-QuIC™️.