Health

As E-cigarettes Come Under Fire, Hava Health Readies a Vape Pen to Help People Quit Smoking

September 26, 2019

In a small corner on the second floor of a roughshod maker space in Philadelphia, the founders of Hava Health are plotting the launch of what they call the first vaporizer designed for smoking cessation. Robots roam the open floors of the offices at NextFab, where Josh Israel and Devin Serago, two serial entrepreneurs and college friends, […]

Philadelphia Cancer-Fighting Biotech Startup Raises $3.2M

September 17, 2019

Navrogen Inc., a Philadelphia biotechnology company that has set up shop on the campus of St. Joseph’s University, closed a $3.2 million financing. The convertible note financing was led by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania and a group of private investors. Navrogen plans to use the proceeds to advance its humoral immuno-oncology discovery […]

Penn Spinoff Takes on Glaucoma with Nanotechnology-Enabled Implant

August 9, 2019

Avisi Technologies, a medical device startup spun out of the University of Pennsylvania, is working on a new way to help glaucoma patients. The Philadelphia company recently landed a $225,000 federal government grant to support its work on a nanotechnology-enabled implant called the VisiPlate, which is being developed as a defense against blindness caused by […]

Montco Pet Medicine Company Licenses Immunotherapy Technology From UNC

August 7, 2019

MBF Therapeutics, a Montgomery County animal health company that wants to bring immunotherapy to veterinary medicine, signed an exclusive option agreement for technology developed at the University of North Carolina. Financial terms of the deal are being kept confidential. The agreement, which covers animal health applications of the technology, will allow MBF Therapeutics of Ambler […]

NextUp: The Bioprinting Company Bringing 3D-Printed Cells to Life

July 30, 2019

Who: Philadelphia-based bioprinting company Allevi wants to help scientists create everything from cells and bones to limbs and major organs in the lab. The company, formerly known as BioBots, rebranded in 2017 after the departure of one of its original co-founders, leaving chief executive officer Ricky Solorzano at the helm. Solorzano has continued to pursue […]

Old City Medtech Startup Strados Labs Set to Hire After Raising $1.8M

May 23, 2019

Strados Labs — makers of a non-invasive respiratory smart system — has closed in on nearly $2 million in early-stage venture capital, with sights set on quick expansion. The three-year-old, Old City-based healthcare startup, which also has a team in Atlanta and was named a runner-up on the 2019 realLIST, plans to double its five-person […]

What J.P. Morgan’s $500M Acquisition of InstaMed Means for Philadelphia

May 21, 2019

There’s nothing like a big, half-billion-dollar-plus exit to boost a startup ecosystem. In the last 15 months, the Philadelphia region has seen three. “That’s a big deal for any market,” said Dean Miller, CEO and president of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies. The latest is J.P. Morgan’s more than $500 million acquisition of […]

Exclusive: Plans for New Bacteria-Fighting Oral Hygiene Products Will Use This Ft. Washington Company’s Technology

April 4, 2019

A Montgomery County medical device company signed an exclusive licensing agreement Monday that will bring its patented bacteria-fighting technology to the dental industry. Financial terms of the deal between PhotoSonix Medical of Fort Washington and Goldspire Group Ltd., the Hong Kong-based maker of the patented Megasonex brand of ultrasonic toothbrushes and other oral hygiene products, […]

SFA Therapeutics Wins Second Key U.S. Patent For Treatment of Chronic Liver Diseases

March 19, 2019

SFA Therapeutics today announced approval of the second key U.S. patent derived from its research & development program, which utilizes microbiome-derived metabolite small molecules as drugs to modulate the body’s anti-inflammatory and immune systems. As a result of this new patent, targeting Ffar2 (GPR43) and Ffar3 (GPR441) and down-regulation of NF-ĸB, the therapeutic applications of […]

Immuno-oncology Startup Finds a Home at College

February 20, 2019

When Nicholas Nicolaides decided to part ways with the company he co-founded two decades ago and launch another startup, one of his first tasks was finding lab space. He considered the University City Science Center, the place where he co-founded Morphotek in 1999, but ended up instead becoming the first biotech startup to set up shop at […]