The firm – which is part of Chinese meat processing organistion WH Group – already sells pork byproducts to pharmaceutical companies which use them to make treatments for conditions like indigestion, hypothyroidism and deep vein thrombosis
The bioscience unit will build on this established supply business according to Smithfield, which said the aim is to explore methods and technologies for addressing concerns such as tissue regeneration and the availability of viable human organs for transplantation.
Military applications
Smithfield Bioscience already has joined a number of projects.
The firm has teamed up with the US Government backed Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (AMRI) and a consortium of academics to develop technologies that can produce replacement tissues for soldiers injured in combat.
Smithfield Bioscience has also partnered with researchers developing immunotherapies at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University.
Courtney Stanton, vice president of the Smithfield Bioscience said the firm “is well-positioned to help the US medical and pharmaceutical industry achieve significant, scalable developments in biologics."