The Pennsylvania Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT) named the top startups, investment deals, CEOs and emerging companies in tech and life sciences during its 30th Enterprise Awards on Tuesday.
In front of a standing-room only crowd of about 500 people, 10 awardees were named as part of what PACT calls the "region's most prestigious celebration of achievement, innovation, and success for leaders in life sciences and technology." Three finalists and one winner were chosen across the 10 categories, which garnered over 400 submissions.
A lifetime achievement award was given to David Adelman, part-owner the Philadelphia 76ers and the face of the team's proposed Center City arena. In addition to leading the hot-button project, Adelman is CEO of Campus Apartments, co-founder of FS Investments and founder of Darco Capital, which has a portfolio of close to 80 investments including local firms like Gopuff, Cesium and Stimulus Inc.
Here are the companies and people that took home the PACT hardware:
Life sciences and health care startup: Vittoria Biotherapeutics
The University of Pennsylvania-bred startup, based in Philadelphia, uses cell engineering and gene-editing technologies to expand the applications of CAR T-cell therapies. Vittoria Biotherapeutics raised a $10 million seed round just under a year ago and is helmed by Nicholas Siciliano.
Technology startup: Lula Convenience
The Drexel University spinout has undergone a rebrand from Lula Delivery to Lula Convenience in the past year. It is now readying to launch with big-name retailers on its e-commerce platform that allows convenience stores to easily connect with delivery apps and track inventory.
"When I saw a lot of the names up there like Richard Vague who's one of our investors and folks like Ira Lubert who I really look up to and a lot of other names up there, I was just in awe because just a couple years ago I was trying to get these people to mentor me," said Lula co-founder and CEO Adit Gupta. "So this is kind of a dream come true in a way and it's our first major award."
Investment deal: Center for Breakthrough Medicines
Center for Breakthrough Medicines is a cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization looking to create therapies at scale for genetic disorders and cancers. The King of Prussia company received $350 million in equity financing from South Korean conglomerate SK Inc.
Co-founder and chief business officer Audrey Greenberg said the company is currently eyeing its next tranche of capital that it hopes to close this summer. She said in five years CBM will be part of the SK family of companies, and could complete an IPO in the next few years. A spinoff IPO could even be in play specifically for the cell and gene therapy platform, according to Greenberg.
Life sciences and health care emerging: Biomeme
The Philadelphia startup, founded by Max Perelman and Marc DeJohn in 2022, allows users to analyze DNA diagnostic tests from their smartphones through a mobile app to identify diseases or pathogens.
Technology emerging: Exyn Technologies
The Penn robotics spinout, founded in 2014, is gearing up for international expansion. The company is creating software so robots can operate autonomously in environments with no prior information and where GPS is not available. Exyn hopes to grow its team of about 65 by about four or five times in the coming years, said COO Ben Williams.
"I think you're going to see us opening offices worldwide," Williams said. "We just opened in Chile, we've got Canadian offices, and we're going to be opening in Europe and Africa next year as well."
Life sciences and health care CEO: Tom Anderson, SwanBio Therapeutics
Anderson has helmed the Philadelphia-based gene therapy company for nearly four years, helping it to secure a $56 million Series B about a year ago that was among the largest deals in the region in 2022.
Technology CEO: Christopher Molaro, NeuroFlow
The U.S. Army veteran founded NeuroFlow following his deployment in Iraq. The company looks to track patients' moods, pain levels and sleep through self-assessment, allowing health care providers to better identify behavioral conditions. The company raised a $25 million growth round in October and moved into a new Center City office.
Health care innovator: Code Bio
The Hatfield-based biotech company raised a $75 million Series A round about a year ago, one of the largest deals in the region. Just three years old, the company is working on gene therapy programs targeting diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy and type 1 diabetes.
Life sciences and health care company: AscellaHealth
The Berwyn company offers payers, providers and patients portfolios of customizable, tech-enabled pharmaceutical and medical services. It was founded in 2013 and has grown rapidly since, but is now targeting European markets.
"We are really globally growing as we speak," said COO John Campolongo. "We think there is great opportunity for us in European expansion to do some things we've done here."
Technology company: Infinite Blue
The Audobon tech firm was founded in 2013 and now counts four Fortune 10 companies as its clients. It works with companies, government agencies and organizations on business continuity, disaster recovery and crisis management. About a year ago, it moved into its new 36,000-square-foot headquarters in Audobon.
