Two big pharma companies, Johnson & Johnson and Merck, and two venture capital firms will be moving into the expanded Pittsburgh Life Science Greenhouse campus, news that follows on the heels of the incubator’s $5 million Accelerator Fund to boost the region’s life science industry.
PLSG announced the expansion of the campus, four to six wet labs in addition to 9,000 square feet of life sciences labs in December. Johnson & Johnson and Merck will be establishing their first presence in Pittsburgh.
In addition, Novitas and Corridor Venture Partners are moving in, reports Lynn Brusco of PLSG. The move marks a return to the region for Novitas, formerly PA Early Stage. It will be the first official office for Corridor Venture Partners, the life sciences fund founded by Gary Glausner and Pete DeComo in 2008.
“All of this company formation and capitalization activity, combined with the establishment of an efficient, cost-effective location for growing the region’s life sciences industry at our new life sciences campus on the south side of Pittsburgh, is an instrumental underpinning for creating sustainability for the life sciences in our region,” says John Manzetti, President and CEO of PLSG.
The $5 million Accelerator Fund will provide investment for a target group of PLSG companies that have moved beyond the early stage: medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, health care, information technology, biotechnology tools. PLSG has been a successful catalyst for life science industry growth in the region, making Pittsburgh a U.S. top-10 ranked source of life sciences innovation with $600 million invested by NIH annually.
In other llife sciences news, Pittsburgh-based BlueTree Allied Angels saw the successful exit of MedSage Technologies, a portfolio company that developed a web-based platform to monitor patient compliance and track replacement equipment needs.
The company was acquired by Philips/Respironics of the Netherlands. MedSage will be part of the sleep business of the Philips Home Healthcare Solutions Unit.
“BlueTree investors on this project are going to realize a double-digit return on their original investment,” says Catherine Mott. “They will also have the satisfaction of seeing a company move on to the next level, which is an added benefit of angel investing, particularly with this company because it will remain in the Pittsburgh region.”
Source: John Manzetti, Lynn Brusco, PLSG; Catherine Mott, BlueTree Allied Angels
Writer: Debra Diamond Smit
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