The Grow Iowa Values Fund Board has approved $9 million in grants to Trans Ova Genetics, to assist the Iowa company in bringing its biotechnology products from the testing stages into production.

The state’s partnership with the company will help make the region a magnet for other biotechnology businesses, Trans Ova Chief Executive Jan Schuiteman said following the Values Fund board’s unanimous vote.

“Our intent is to build on the biotechnology cluster we already have in Northwest Iowa,” he said.

The Sioux Center-based company, which currently specializes in embryo-transfer services for cattle breeding, is on the verge of being able to mass-produce human antibodies. Using cattle enables much larger-scale production than obtaining the raw materials from human donors.

Applications for the technology, which involves inserting human antibodies into cloned cows, include innoculations against drug-resistant germs and the equivalent of an “anti-venom” for bio-terror chemical agents.

Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Michael Blouin acknowledged the investment’s high risk, given the cutting-edge technology the company is developing.

“This is up the tree aways and out a couple of limbs, but it’s worth it for what we can do for the state of Iowa,” he told the board prior to its vote.

The company plans a number of multi-phased expansion projects, with a focus on the development and production of human antibodies for use in pharmaceuticals.

The Values Fund board plans to hold the committed funds in reserve and release them on a project-by-project basis. Trans Ova’s initial request is expected to be $3 million.

Trans Ova plans to spend $37.7 million in the next five years to build production and research facilities in Sioux Center. About $20 million of that would come from private sources.

Schuiteman said the Value Fund’s commitment will spur further investment in Trans Ova from up to 20 local, national and international partners.

The company estimates its projects will create 315 additional jobs in the next five years. It currently employs about 200 people.