PHILADELPHIA, May 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two firms with ties to the Asian marketplace have located at the University City Science Center's Port business incubator in Philadelphia, Penn. PrimBio Research Institute, a biotech company developing products for cancer research and diagnostics targeting hospitals in the U.S. and China; and CropLord LLC, a biotechnology and consulting firm dedicated to sustainable agriculture and specialty chemicals in the Asian market, are the newest residents of the Port business incubator.
Located in the Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Center for Technology Advancement at 3624 Market Street, PrimBio Research Institute develops tools that can be used for cancer research and diagnostic device development. Its technologies include cells and gene sets collected from human liver, stomach, lung, breast, and intestinal cancers. These technologies are important for identifying and validating new molecules that could be important diagnostic biomarkers or targets for new drugs, as well as for studying disease biology.
"We're thrilled to be a part of the Science Center's Port business incubator" comments PrimBio's Chief Financial Officer Diana Ye. "The Port provides tremendous resources and support for a start-up biotech company like PrimBio."
Originally established as a virtual resident of the Port in February 2012, CropLord LLC has taken a desk in the Bullpen, the Science Center's co-working space located at 3711 Market Street in Philadelphia. CropLord develops micronutrient fertilizer formulae that are customized to particular soil and crop types. It is also developing bacterial fermentation approaches to synthesize compounds such as methionine, an amino acid that is important in livestock feeds and increasingly used in certain types of organic fertilizers. Appealing directly to Chinese fertilizer manufacturers, the technologies developed by CropLord will satisfy the need in Asian markets to reduce waste, boost crop production, and increase sustainability.
About the Science Center
The University City Science Center accelerates technology commercialization, regional economic development, and the market availability of life-enhancing scientific breakthroughs by bringing together innovations, scientists, entrepreneurs, funding, laboratory facilities, and business services. Established in 1963 and headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, the Science Center was the first, and remains the largest, urban research park in the United States. Graduate organizations and current residents of the University City Science Center's Port business incubators have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. For more information about the Science Center, go to www.sciencecenter.org .
The Port business incubator offers start-up companies more than just physical resources. It also surrounds emerging ventures with the other ingredients required to grow and be successful. The Port offers its residents access to free programming including Lunch for Hungry Minds scientific presentations and Smart Talk's business building advice. The Science Center's Scientific Advisory Committee connects Port companies with a vast array of clinical and technical expertise and facilities. Current committee members include the senior research administrators (or equivalent) from academic, healthcare and research institutions, as well as from leading local companies in the life sciences and other industry sectors. The Port is one of 23 business incubation programs in the world that hold the Soft Landings International Incubator designation from the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA). The NBIA's Soft Landings Program recognizes incubators that are especially capable of helping nondomestic companies enter the incubator's domestic market.
For more information about the Science Center, go to www.sciencecenter.org . Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-City-Science-Center/196872478998 , follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/UCScienceCenter and join our network on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2653857&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr .
CONTACTS:
Jeanne Mell
University City Science Center
3711 Market Street, Suite 800
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-966-6029
302-345-8130 (cell)
jmell@sciencecenter.org
Kristen Fitch
University City Science Center
215-966-6156
kfitch@sciencecenter.org
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