Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal by Ed Stych, Web Producer
DiaMedica Inc., a pharmaceutical company that develops drugs to treat type-2 diabetes, has moved its headquarters from Canada to Plymouth.
The four-person company, which moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba, expects to build a staff of 20, said DiaMedica CEO Rick Pauls. News of the company’s move had been announced earlier by economic development group Greater MSP.
“We thought a U.S. presence would be important for us and looked at a number of places, " Pauls said.
He cited the strong life-sciences sector, ease of air travel to other North American cities, and cultural similarities between the Twin Cities and Winnipeg as reasons for why Minnesota won out over places such as California.
DiaMedica, which was founded in 2000, had thought about moving here before. The company said in February 2009 it was moving from Winnipeg to the Twin Cities. At that time it had just hired former MGI Pharma Inc. executive Reggie Bowerman as CEO.
But Bowerman left after just seven months on the job and Pauls was hired as chief executive in July 2009. Pauls has been chairman of the company’s board since 2008 and previously was managing director of CentreStone Ventures Inc., an early-state life sciences venture capital fund.
