Ben Franklin Technology Partners invests $2 million in regional companies
March 13, 2009
Christopher Wink, Technically Philly
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania announced yesterday plans to invest $2.05 million in 11 companies in and around Philadelphia.
The regional partner of the statewide economic development network bought $750,000 worth of three Philadelphia companies and spent the rest on eight groups in the ‘burbs.
In a struggling economy, that's good news. Technology companies funded by BFTP boosted the gross state product by an estimated $9.3 billion from 2002 to 2006, according to a study released by the Pennsylvania Economy League last month.
The largest investment was $400,000 for BioNanomatrix, a University City developer of analytic and imaging platforms that aim to reduce the time and cost used to analyze DNA. BioNanomatrix has previously received $250,000 from BFTP.
The other two Philly BFTP investments were $250,000 in Niiki Pharma, which develops cancer treatment drugs and is based in the same University City building as BioNanomatrix, and $75,000 in Larger than Life Prints, a Center City company that sells large-scale, reusable wall decals from customer images. Niiki Pharma has previously scored a $500,000 BFTP investment.
Two suburban companies received $250,000 investments: West Chester-based digital audio networking manufacturer Aviom andOnconova Therapeutics, a Newtown developer of cancer treatment products that has scored another $250,000 investment in the past.
The 11 companies listed by size of the investment from BFTP:
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BioNanomatrix, University City - $400,000
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Niiki Pharma, University City - $250,000
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Aviom, West Chester - $250,000
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Onconova Therapeutics, Newtown - $250,000
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Versify Solutions, of Chadds Ford, which provides products and services for power traders and power generation managers - $200,000
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Healthy Humans, of Wayne, which helps people with chronic illnesses develop plans to improve their health - $150,000
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Syandus, of Exton, which develops medical simulations to help doctors better learn to diagnose and manage diseases - $150,000
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Apptastics, of Fort Washington, which consults companies on social media as a marketing tool - $125,000
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Spectrum Devices, of Hatfield, which makes silicon radio-frequency power transmitters - $120,000
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PayParade, of Fort Washington, which helps retailers use social media to drive Web traffic - $75,000
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Larger than Life, Center City - $75,000