Finding a welcoming home for innovation
Multiple Awards | $15k
-80° C
Temperature at which reagents are stored
20
Potential number of jobs created
Part of MTI’s goal to create and retain quality jobs in Maine involves attracting out-of-state talent — like Monoclonals founder Christine Soto — to relocate here.
Christine had originally intended to start her bioresearch lab company in Philadelphia, where she was working as a research scientist at the time. Unable to find affordable lab space or the proper entrepreneurial support systems in Philadelphia, she began to look elsewhere. Her search led her to Maine and the Union River Center for Innovation — an MTI-funded innovation incubator and co-working space in Ellsworth.
There, Christine found a supportive entrepreneurial environment and was able to connect with MTI for funding for critical resources to grow her company. Now, Monoclonals is focusing on rare diseases and developing antibodies to be used in rapid diagnostic test kits — critical work considering the current COVID pandemic.
Christine’s journey — from her native Brooklyn, NY to Philadelphia and now to Maine — is a perfect example of how Maine’s supportive innovation ecosystem is attracting bright minds and boundless talent to our state.