DOYLESTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The nonprofit Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), one of the nation’s most successful life sciences incubators, today announced a new collaboration that includes a pledge by Daiichi Sankyo to become an investor in the fund managed by Hatch Biofund Management LLC.
An investment of $10 million has been committed by Daiichi Sankyo to Hatch Biofund 1, which was created by the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute as a companion to their Incubator and BioAccelerator. The PABC is managed by the Blumberg Institute. Hatch Biofund is currently in a fundraising mode with plans to raise $50 million with a first close within months.
Louis P. Kassa, the PABC’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said, “Having Daiichi Sankyo join our innovation ecosystem is a big win for the PABC and our nearly 80 member companies, and it’s a win for Bucks County, the Philadelphia region and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well.”
Daiichi Sankyo’s interests in oncology and cell and gene therapy align well with the current PABC incubator.
“This collaboration provides Daiichi Sankyo with access to the new therapeutics under development in the incubators as well as a front row seat at the birth of the new cell and gene therapy industry here in our region,” Vlad Walko, CEO of Hatch, said. “The lead investment in Hatch reflects Daiichi Sankyo’s confidence in the PABC model and in the Philadelphia region as a major biotech hub.”
Daiichi Sankyo, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Japan with sales of more than $9 billion, has its U.S. headquarters in Basking Ridge, N.J. ”At Daiichi Sankyo, we are committed to exploring and investing in a variety of avenues to improve health and extend lives,” said Stu Mackey, Global Head of Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo. “We are proud to partner with the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center to support the advancement of companies that share our goals for better global human health.”
About the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC): The PABC is a nonprofit life sciences incubator-accelerator, offering state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to early stage biotech companies, as well as the Hepatitis B Foundation and Blumberg Institute. Managed by the Institute and led by a board appointed by the Foundation, PABC has nearly 80 member companies, mostly small to mid-size science, research and pharmaceutical companies. More than 40 of those companies have operations on site. The center uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success, advancing biotechnology, maximizing synergies among nonprofit scientists and their commercial colleagues, and launching new ideas and discoveries that will make a difference. PABC is just outside of Doylestown in the heart of the Philadelphia-New Jersey pharma belt.
About the Hatch Biofund: This new venture capital fund is a companion to the incubators and bioaccelerators owned or managed by the PABC. Hatch Biofund management is raising $50 million to invest in the most promising early stage and seed-stage companies that are members of the PABC. A Scientific Advisory Board and experienced Investment Committee review and approve all investments. Significant risk mitigation within the PABC Ecosystem has been proven by independent study to lead to outsized investor returns, shortened exit times and extremely low failure rate. Hatch Biofund Management offices are located at the PABC. For further information, please contact Vladimir Walko, CEO and Fund Manager.
