PHILADELPHIA (June 13, 2017) – Three newly formed companies have received $50,000 each from the University City Science Center’s Phase 1 Ventures (P1V) program. PolyCeramX, Recensa Therapeutics and Regennera, all P1V participants, will apply the funds to a combination of technical development and commercialization activities.
Phase 1 Ventures is a startup accelerator that helps launch and grow companies that have specific technology and/or regulatory development needs, such as healthcare, materials, or energy. P1V participants include entrepreneurs that are matched to a technology at one of P1V’s participating universities or recently formed companies that have not yet raised financing. Since it was launched in 2015, P1V has committed more than $1.6 million to 19 startups, typically as the first investment. Collectively, these participants have raised close to $2 million in non-dilutive funding and $1 million in follow-on investment to date.
With intellectual property from Temple University, PolyCeramX is developing a new solid state electrolyte to increase the safety, efficacy and device incorporation of lithium batteries. These solid state electrolytes reduce flammability due to their composition. Because they are flexible and conforming, they can be fabricated into various sized and shaped devices and have higher conductivities than current competitors.
Recensa Therapeutics, also with IP from Temple, possesses a technology which screens for molecules that stimulate the body’s anti-oxidant response against inflammation. Recensa is using this technology to develop topical therapies for the treatment of psoriasis.
Regennera is developing a novel pre-vascularized, load-bearing synthetic bone graft with IP from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. This all-in-one fracture repair device is capable of developing new bone and vasculature simultaneously by combining a composite polymeric/hydroxyapatite structural element that mimics both trabeculae and cortical bone (which are both critical for proper bone regrowth) and cells from the patient's bone marrow.
Launched in 2015, P1V’s portfolio currently includes 19 newly formed companies leveraging intellectual property from 12 institutions, including The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Drexel University; Lehigh University; Penn State University; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Temple University; Thomas Jefferson University; University of Delaware; University of Iowa; University of Pennsylvania; University of Pittsburgh; and University of the Sciences.
About the Science Center
Located in the heart of uCity Square, the Science Center is a mission-driven nonprofit organization that catalyzes and connects innovation to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. For 50+ years, the Science Center has supported startups, research, and economic development in the life sciences, healthcare, physical sciences, and emerging technology sectors. As a result, graduate firms and current residents of the Science Center’s incubator support one out of every 100 jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region and drive $13 billion in economic activity in the region annually. By providing resources and programming for any stage of a business’s lifecycle, the Science Center helps scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators take their concepts from idea to IPO – and beyond.
For more information about the Science Center, go to www.sciencecenter.org
