People Are Talking About the Impact of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners
“Ben Franklin Technology Partners helped us get up and running quickly, providing us with specialized equipment and expertise, office space and wet lab space.
They also invested in the company and helped create our administrative infrastructure. This freed us to focus on technology development and long-term funding. Ben Franklin has been with us every step of the way, and as evidenced by what we’ve accomplished so far, it has worked.”
—Mark Granahan, General Manager
Texas Instruments – Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem
(Formerly CICLON Semiconductor Device Corporation)
Texas Instruments – Lehigh Valley is a leader in the design, development and sale of high-frequency, high-efficiency semiconductors for high-performance information technology applications.
“Ben Franklin has been an outstanding partner in developing Keystone Nano’s nanoparticle technology. Their critical early funding allowed us to secure two significant corporate partners.
That would not have been possible without the additional development enabled by our relationship. The Commonwealth has created a stellar program in Ben Franklin, and it should continue to invest and develop the program over the coming years.”
—Jeff Davidson, CEO
Keystone Nano, State College
Keystone Nano’s “Molecular Dots” nanotechnology allows pharmaceuticals to be delivered to the right places in the body in the right doses, leading to more effective treatment with fewer side effects.
“When I started my first company, Automated Healthcare, Ben Franklin Technology Partners was critical to its success. Their initial investment was the difference between launching the company or not.
Now as CEO of Precision Therapeutics, another company founded with Ben Franklin funding, I admire the leadership that the organization has provided to the community and its role in creating today’s dynamic regional technology economy.”
—Sean McDonald, CEO
Precision Therapeutics, Pittsburgh
Precision Therapeutics’ product, ChemoFx, helps to determine the most effective type of chemotherapy to treat individual patients’ tumors.
“Ben Franklin’s early investment was a vote of confidence that drew in a series of local and international angel investors.
First-time entrepreneurs struggle because they’re not sure what steps are necessary to build a business from scratch, or what infrastructure is needed to effectively run the business. With Ben Franklin’s review process, we formulated a succinct business proposition and long-term goals. Ben Franklin propelled us forward and made Morphotek a reality.”
—Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D.
Co-founder, President and CEO, Morphotek, Exton
Morphotek is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases.
“The Ben Franklin Technology Partners wraps services around its funding of companies.
Infrastructure and networking support, alignment with colleges and universities, ensuring that clients are connected with broader opportunities in the region—these make Ben Franklin investments smart capital. Ben Franklin is catalyzing entrepreneurship and innovation to help make national priorities happen.”
—The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, White House Chief Technology Officer
“There is no question that the Ben Franklin Technology Partners has set the gold standard for technology-based economic development across the country.
Today, nearly every other state in the union has a similar type of program. It’s not often that a state program can last 25 years through a variety of political administrations. The Ben Franklin partnership has helped reshape the image and the reality of Pennsylvania’s economic base. We are no longer viewed as a ‘smokestack state.’ We are at the leading edge of new technologies, new businesses and more job-creating opportunities.”
—Former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh
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