BioAdvance Invests More Than $3 Million In Regional Life Sciences
Enterprises
Eight Local Recipients Named in Second Round of Investments
Philadelphia, PA – February 10, 2004 – BioAdvance,
the Biotechnology Greenhouse of Southeastern Pennsylvania,
today announces the selection of eight recipients receiving a total
of
$3.3 million in seed and pre-seed funding from the Greenhouse
Fund’s
second investment cycle. The $20 million Greenhouse Fund
is designed to help entrepreneurs move commercially promising
therapeutics,
medical devices and discovery technologies from the laboratory
to a more advanced stage where they are capable of securing
venture capital or corporate funding. The recipients represent
a wide
range of contributions to the life sciences from innovative
new therapies
and medical devices, to diagnostic aids, to support for cutting-edge
drug discovery. Representatives will be available to explain
their projects and answer questions on a Webcast today at
10:00 a.m.
EST at www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=19937. The Webcast
also will be archived at this address for 90 days.
“The range of recipients demonstrates the richness of our
region in medical and scientific innovation as well as entrepreneurial
talent,” said Barbara S. Schilberg, managing director and
chief executive officer of BioAdvance. “BioAdvance is excited
to support these young companies as they move forward with life-saving
advances in healthcare. Their success will bring jobs and economic
energy to southeastern Pennsylvania and reinforce our reputation
as a center for the life sciences.”
Each recipient will receive between $100,000 and $500,000. They
include:
| • |
Acuity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. moving cutting-edge gene-silencing
technology into clinical trials to treat the leading causes
of adult blindness. |
| • |
BioSensus, LLC, out of Drexel University, pioneering miniaturized
acoustic sensing devices for rapid, on-site and patient self-testing
for diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. |
| • |
Cira Discovery Sciences, Inc. applying its proprietary computational
algorithms uniquely capable of discovering patterns in genomic
data to help advance drug development. |
| • |
LumenVu, out of the University of Pennsylvania, embedding
lights in catheters to direct their accurate placement in the
body. |
| • |
Protez Pharmaceuticals, Inc., developing novel antibiotics
to combat drug resistance in difficult-to-treat hospital-based
infections. |
| • |
TheraQuest Biosciences, LLC, an analgesic specialist developing
four products for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain
conditions. |
| • |
VGX Pharmaceuticals, developing treatments for AIDS and cancer
with a lead product using a novel mechanism to combat HIV drug
resistance. |
| • |
Yaupon Therapeutics, Inc., identifying valuable pharmaceuticals
by applying 21st century know-how to plants with medicinal
value, with its lead product entering clinical trials as the
first drug for treatment of methamphetamine addiction. |
Additional information on these recipients can be found on the
BioAdvance website at www.bioadvance.com.
“What prompted us to select some of these companies was
their cutting-edge science and innovation, for others it was the
depth of relevant experience or the sheer determination of the
founding scientists,” said Gary J. Kurtzman, M.D., managing
director and chief operating officer of BioAdvance. “In all
cases it was the promise of achievement in an area with a major
unmet or under-served need.”
The Greenhouse Fund was launched in the fall of 2002, and in April
2003 BioAdvance invested $3 million in its initial funding cycle.
Applications undergo a rigorous evaluation process by independent
technical reviewers from around the country, and from advisory
panels consisting of research, business development and venture
capital representatives. The applications are evaluated based on
technical merit, commercial potential and intellectual property
criteria.
About BioAdvance
As a part of a $2 billion initiative by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
to stimulate the economy by supporting life sciences technologies,
BioAdvance received $33.8 million from the State’s share
of the tobacco settlement monies to accelerate the creation of
life sciences jobs and businesses in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
BioAdvance will accomplish this goal through its key funding program,
the Greenhouse Fund, and other initiatives to link entrepreneurs
to the region’s wealth of resources. For information about
BioAdvance, please visit www.bioadvance.com.
Contacts:
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