Latest news with #BioLattice
Technical.ly
24-06-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
How Philly's BioLattice is making the jump from grants to VC
For nearly two years, has hosted its monthly segment, Speaking, on WURD Radio's 'Reality Check' with Tonya Pendleton. Earlier this month, WURD cancelled the show after a round of layoffs. Winning pitch competitions and getting industry recognition don't always lead to funding. For Amelia Zellander, founder and CEO of the tissue engineering startup BioLattice, it took six years to get the 'proper funding' to pursue the biotechnology, which she finally secured at the end of 2023. Innovations like biomaterial to repair the front layer of the eye — an alternative to traditional cornea transplants — can be risky to develop, she said. In the current climate of risk-averse investors, that makes biotech money difficult to land. It was ultimately federal funding (the same programs now in limbo under the Trump administration) that made Zellander's initial research possible. Now she's seeking venture capital to maintain that momentum. 'My journey with this company in this form really started in 2017,' Zellander told reporter Sarah Huffman on Speaking, a monthly segment on WURD Radio's 'Reality Check' hosted by Tonya Pendleton. 'I applied for federal funding multiple times before I finally got the Phase One [National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research ] grant.' The funding served as a launch pad. Since starting a research partnership with Lehigh University, BioLattice has landed an $80,000 first-place prize at a pitch competition. More recently, Zellander was named Startup of the Year at BioLabs' third annual investor day. BioLattice is continuing its growth trajectory as a member of the inaugural HiveBio accelerator cohort. This is helping build the company's brand and supporting its path to securing investors, per Zellander. 'I have been getting a little bit of funding, but I'm just still in the battle to build my reputation,' she said, 'to build the trust with investors, and to present the need.' While positive recognition is useful in general, it doesn't always translate into dollars, Zellander said. As BioLattice gears up to raise its next $2 million to support the prototyping phase, she's hoping to make sure it can turn the accolades into securing VCs. BioLattice is currently in a preclinical, prototype stage. Its CorneaClear technology is compatible with rabbit eyes, and now needs more testing to conduct a formal animal study. 'Storytelling is the biggest thing,' Zellander said. 'Investors want to know: How are they going to get their investment back?'
Technical.ly
16-05-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Biotech startup BioLattice wins pitch prize — but says the real value was showing up
Despite the international representation at BioLabs Philadelphia's third annual Investor Day, a local biotech company took home the top prize. Amelia Zellander, founder and CEO of tissue engineering startup BioLattice, applied for Investor Day as a way to attract funding and resources for her company, with the goal of making connections that could lead to valuable relationships, she said. The event featured 18 startups, all of which pitched to win Startup of the Year and a package of consulting services, software services and discounts on equipment. The startups were also exposed to life sciences stakeholders from across the country and those from outside the region got to meet Philly's ecosystem. Winning Startup of the Year means a lot, Zellander said, and helps to spread the word about the work she is doing. 'People invest in people they know and they like,' she told 'You just have to have face-to-face interaction, and nothing magical is going to happen for me at this one event. It's about being out there a lot.' Recognition from winning the award will help Zellander with her current goal, raising a $2 million seed round. The seed round will help the company file for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the Food and Drug Administration to generate data to show that the company is ready for a clinical trial, Zellander said. BioLattice is developing a biomaterial to repair and transplant the front layer of the eye called CorneaClear. The company has seen some momentum over the last few years, receiving funding from federal agencies, accelerators and pitch competitions that have supported the development of its prototype. It has some early data from animal tests to inform its pilot studies, but still needs more cash to get there. A slow funding environment isn't scaring BioLattice away Despite Zellander's recent wins, her experience with finding funding and resources for her company has always been a challenge. It's generally harder for life sciences companies to find funding because they're high risk and require long timelines. Lack of funding is exacerbated by funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health. The Philadelphia region saw a dip in venture capital last quarter and Philly companies say they are having trouble securing funding from local investors. Events like BioLabs Investor Day are intended to bring investors and money from outside Philadelphia into the region, Melina Blees, head of BioLabs Philadelphia, told But investors generally are looking for companies with strong teams that are capital efficient, have an exit timeline and proven customers. Plus, federal funding cuts are making it increasingly difficult for startups to get off the ground. However, these circumstances don't particularly scare Zellander, she said. Raising money and finding resources have always been difficult. In the past, she struggled to find consistent funding and balance her time building the startup while working full-time jobs, she said. 'It has just never been easy, and in my experience, it's always hard for just different reasons,' she said. Bringing outsiders to Philly to boost local VC BioLabs hosts events like this not just to engage with local stakeholders, but also to show off the region to investors who may write Philly off, Blees of BioLabs said. 'Our goal is really to bring them here, to show them that there's great science happening,' Blees said. 'Then hopefully that means they come back and they invest.' Biolabs' national presence is helpful for this, she said. The global life sciences coworking company hosts an investor event series in its hubs across the country, which works to build a network that can be tapped into by anyone. BioLabs launched in Philly in 2018 and is now doubling down on its presence here. The company recently announced plans to expand its space at the Curtis building. The BioLabs for Advanced Therapeutics will be a 30,000-square-foot incubator space to be completed in the second half of this year. The expansion includes the opening of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center, which is expected to bring in companies from all over to try equipment and work with the life science company's team, Blees said. Convincing investors that startups can be successful anywhere is easier since the pandemic introduced virtual work, she said. In fact, startups can be more successful in an ecosystem where they have connections and resources with a lower cost of living. 'Money can move,' Blees said. 'If a great company is embedded in an ecosystem and has the support and has resources, why would you move them?' Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
