State Invests $5M In New Biotech Innovation Zone in Bucks, Philly

DOYLESTOWN, PA - Pennsylvania will invest $5 million in a new Academic Innovation Zone in Bucks and Philadelphia counties through the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center.

The announcement was made in Buckingham Township by State Senator Steve Santarsiero and the CEOs of the nonprofit Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center and Brandywine Realty Trust.

The funding will be split evenly between the PABC?s two life sciences incubators - its headquarters and original incubator in Buckingham and at B+labs at Cira Center in Philadelphia. B+labs is run by the PABC in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust.

The Academic Innovation Zone initiative will directly support early stage companies and academic technologies in the life sciences at both its Bucks County and Philadelphia incubators.

More than 100 companies, mostly small to mid-size science, research and pharmaceutical entities, are PABC member companies. Nearly 50 have operations in the Bucks County facility and 15 are located in B+labs.

?This sizable grant not only will allow us to expand our services to help promising companies grow, it is a significant statement from some of the state?s top elected officials about their confidence in the PABC,? Louis P. Kassa III, MPA, president and CEO of the PABC said. ?The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center has produced several thousand new jobs and generated more than $10 billion dollars in economic impact over the past 16 years, and the Academic Innovation Zone will greatly enhance and accelerate our efforts.?

Kassa said credit for the investment goes to state Senator Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia, Senator Steve Santarsiero of Bucks County and State Rep. Matt Bradford of Montgomery County. All three visited the PABC last year to get a firsthand look at the operation.

According to Santarsiero, investments in biotechnology like the one announced this week will help transform Pennsylvania?s economy.

?We have an opportunity to build a biotech corridor, beginning right here in Bucks County, that will connect with other hubs across Pennsylvania and enable us to compete with other states and countries in this industry,? he said. ?This is an important investment, but as a state we still have much more to do.

?I know that (expanding the biotech industry in Pennsylvania) is a specific goal of Governor-elect Josh Shapiro. And I and my colleagues are looking forward to working with him as he lays out that plan moving forward. I?m really excited to see what unfolds in the next couple of years. Pennsylvania will become a critical place where investment and growth in this industry will lead to great things both for our residents here but also for the entire region.?

Kassa also expressed appreciation to Brandywine Realty Trust President and CEO Jerry Sweeney for playing a key role in developing the PABC?s Academic Innovation Zone concept.

?The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a tremendous opportunity to accelerate this moment of rapid growth as a top Life Science market,? said Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust. ?This commitment at the state level allows us to put a key program into action that will not only bring more companies and talent to the region but keep them here and solidify Greater Philadelphia as the best place to build and grow a life science company.?

The Academic Innovation Zone program will offer turnkey laboratory and business services, available for rapid use by entrepreneurs or newly formed companies with promising ideas but limited resources.

The program has three specific aims:

• Talent scouting: Staff will scout for and solicit new innovations that are a good fit for the program, using area academic, nonprofit and government research institutions, and promote this service to major pharmaceutical companies looking to spin out early stage companies.
• Selection of talent and innovations: Entrepreneurs will apply for use of labs and services, and a committee of experts will select applicants that are most promising and likely to benefit from the space and services.
• Research space and professional services: State-of-the-art biology and chemistry research labs will be designated for this program. Proposals and Entrepreneur by s selected for this program will receive lab space access to professional services, including business formation planning and assistance in seeking additional funding.

?Pennsylvania has a clear need for this type of initiative,? said officials. ?The state is 4th nationally for patents and 5th in the country for National Institutes of Health funding, with 88 universities and colleges within a 50-mile radius of Philadelphia.

But a 2019 report from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development shows that Pennsylvania has ?steadily fallen behind those state who have continually increased their support for entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development initiatives.?

Funding for the PABC?s Academic Innovation Zone (AIZ) is a one-year pilot grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Health and totals $5 million. The largest share will go toward company personnel, primarily scientific staff and management. The grant also will fund equipment, supplies and services at the two locations.

The AIZ plan intends to accelerate early stage companies and technologies through the PABC?s highly successful model. The goals are both scientific advancements and economic development.

The PABC?s Doylestown campus, which was opened in 2006, includes a two-story building completed late last year, providing new laboratories, conference rooms, offices and an event space. The PABC received more than $9 million in grants from federal and state agencies for the expansion.

B+labs in Cira Centre cover three floors of the striking high-rise in University City adjacent to Amtrak?s 30th Street Station. Life science leaders occupying B+labs include Asklepios Biopharmaceutical (AskBio), BriaCell Therapeutics, Carisma Therapeutics, Quanta Therapeutics, Synapticure, Tmunity Therapeutics and Vitara Biomedical.