A promising biotech startup from Philadelphia was chosen from among three stellar companies presenting at the 10th annual Entrepreneur Spotlight July 18, at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) as winner of the highly competitive event.
Powered by the Hatch BioFund, the PABC’s 10th Annual Entrepreneur Spotlight featured the event’s first major financial incentive. The choice was determined by a panel of four expert judges and the audience of nearly 100 people, and the vote was quite close.
HULA Therapeutics, which is based in Philadelphia, received the most votes. The early-stage company is dedicated to bringing safer and more efficacious therapies for children and adults with solid tumors.
Leveraging a novel target discovery engine developed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, HULA Therapeutics aims to be in the clinic in late 2024 with a CAR-T cell therapy for neuroblastoma. Hula Therapeutics also is working on programs for sarcoma, medulloblastoma and gliomas.
Hatch BioFund, which is the venture capital fund affiliated with PABC, will be making a $250,000 investment in HULA Therapeutics, as the result of the exciting competition.
The other two presenting companies, which were chosen from more than 40 applicants, will receive one-year memberships at the PABC and related business developments opportunities.
They are:
•Eliksa Therapeutics, based at the PABC in Doylestown, which is developing secretome-based therapies to address significant unmet needs in ocular, cardiovascular and osteoarthritic conditions. These therapies have emerged as a promising approach to overcome the traditional limitations associated with cell-based treatments. Eliksa’s lead product candidate, ELK-003, is being developed to treat ocular manifestations of Epidermolysis Bullosa and entered clinical trials in 2024.
•ThirdLaw Molecular LLC, based in Blue Bell, which is developing technologies from Temple University. The company is working to advance its Spiroligomer molecules as an innovative, patent-protected, new class of targeted medicines. The company’s mission is to create a revolutionary category of molecules that transform how diseases are treated more safely and effectively.
Nearly 100 companies belong to the PABC, a nonprofit life sciences incubator and accelerator providing a collaborative ecosystem and state-of-the-art laboratory and office space. There are nearly 70 early-stage biotech companies onsite at its two locations. Along with its campus in Doylestown, the PABC operates B+labs at Cira Centre in University City.
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