Philadelphia Biotechnology Start Ups Move into Pennovation Center
Media Contact: Jennifer Rizzi, Director, Communications, Facilities & Real Estate Services, 215.573.6107, rizzi@upenn.edu
April 12, 2018
The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services announced today that Philadelphia-area biotechnology companies Biorealize and ZSX Medical, LLC , have signed leases for an Inventor Garage, and Office and shared lab space, respectively, in the Pennovation Center, the University’s business, technology and laboratory incubator.
Biorealize is committed to developing technologies to make the field of biology a more collaborative network. Founders Orkan Telhan, a Professor of Fine Arts at Penn’s School of Design, Michael Hogan, a Penn Engineering alumnus, and Karen Hogan, a Teaching Laboratory Coordinator in the Department of Biology at Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, developed their first product, the Microbial Design Studio, to allow users to design and test genetically modified microorganisms with a single piece of desktop hardware. It is a bio-prototyping platform that allows users to design, grow, and test biological solutions in the lab or in the field.
About their decision to lease one of the first floor Inventor Garages along the Pennovation Center’s eastern façade, Biorealize founder Karen Hogan said: “Our decision to set up shop at Pennovation was simple – it’s a great space, filled with great minds and great vibes, all in one location.”
ZSX Medical, LLC is a clinical-stage bio materials company improving the processes and recovery time for minimally invasive surgery. Their first product, Zip-stich, is a surgical closure system designed to make difficult surgical closures easier for doctors, more cost-effective for hospitals, and more comfortable for patients.
CEO Dan Mazzucco said of his company’s move to offices and a lab bench on the second floor of the Pennovation Center: “The Pennovation Works campus has created a great community in Grays Ferry. We are excited to join.”
“Biotechnology start-ups joining the Pennovation Center are developing technologies and products that help improve our lives and our health,” says Anne Papageorge, Vice President, Facilities & Real Estate Services at Penn. “The Pennovation Center provides the resources and facilities for these professionals to take their work to the next level.”
About The Pennovation Center
The Pennovation Center is a 58,000 square-foot three-story facility designed for start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and inventors looking to be part of a unique community of innovators, and includes a full service technology incubator; basic wet and dry laboratories; private offices, Inventor Garages, as well as a coworking space for up to 200 members, operated by Benjamin’s Desk. It opened in October 2016 as the centerpiece of the University of Pennsylvania’s Pennovation Works, a 23-acre development adjacent to the University campus on the southern bank of the Schuylkill River providing facilities and amenities to bridge intellectual and entrepreneurial initiatives among University researchers, private sector innovators, and start-ups. Owned by the University, and operated by its Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, Pennovation Works houses research labs from Penn’s schools of Arts & Sciences, Dental Medicine, Design, Engineering & Applied Science, and Veterinary Medicine, and companies such as Qualcomm Philadelphia Research Lab, Netronix, and Novapeutics.
Visit pennovation.upenn.edu and follow Pennovation Works on Facebook, @Pennovation on Twitter, and @pennovationworks on Instagram.
