The Life Sciences Greenhouse will invest $750,000 in Nittany Polymedics, a spin-out of State College-based Polymics Inc., whose plans to design, develop, manufacture and distribute high-performance polymer-based products place it on the leading edge of prosthetic applications for medicine and dentistry.
“The funding will be used as working and growth capital,” says Michele Washko, VP of strategic services for LSGH of Central Pa., who notes that the investment reflects long-term confidence in the new enterprise’s innovative technology and exemplifies how early stage investors, in spite of general market conditions, continue to find startup opportunities in Pennsylvania.
While the current climate appears to be “putting pressure on the valuations of companies, there is funding to be had,” Washko says, in commenting on the way that venture capital funds are negotiating the current crisis in financial markets. In the strongest position are funds that managed to create–or “close”–new pools of capital before the final quarter of 2008.
“Those folks have funds that they need to deploy,” Washko says. Angel investors hold a similar position. “They feel that startup funding is one area of their portfolio that they can control. They are vetting and tracking startup companies and remain quite active,” she says.
Meanwhile, “smart companies are scanning the landscape, planning accordingly and trying to assure that they have a year or two years worth of capital on hand. And, if they are not implementing cost-cutting, they have a plan to do so should it become necessary.”
Source: Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA, Michele Washko
Writer: Joseph Plummer