The University of Pennsylvania and global biopharmaceutical company BioNTech have launched a $50 million fund to support early-stage life science companies emerging from the university, writes Sarah Huffman for Technical.ly.
The Penn-BioNTech Innovative Therapeutics Seed (PxB) Fund will be managed by local venture firm Osage University Partners.
“[The fund] will allow us to move faster and more intentionally to support our faculty and other members of our research community as they build high-impact life science companies here in Philadelphia and beyond,” said John Swartley, chief innovation officer at the University of Pennsylvania.
University researchers who are already busy working on therapeutics, diagnostics, digital platforms, and research tools will have access to seed and Series A investments through the PxB Fund.
The announcement follows Penn’s December launch of its StartUP Fund, which provided $10 million to support early-stage companies spun out of university research.
“If we can nurture and establish companies that set down roots here and grow here into major successful businesses,” said Swartley. “That’s great, not only for Penn and our technology and our faculty, but it’s great for the local economy.”
Read more about the Penn-BioNTech Innovative Therapeutics Seed Fund and what it will mean for startups at Technical.ly.
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