The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) announced Monday that it has awarded approximately $1.4 million in emergency investments to protect existing portfolio clients impacted during the COVID-19 crisis.
The investments were part of BFTP/NEP’s Portfolio Protection Investments within its Return to Health funding program. Funds were provided through a $1 million disbursement from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) that was matched by BFTP/NEP.
Under their Return to Health program, BFTP/NEP also invested $404,370 in 17 established manufacturers with support from DCED.
Specifically, Portfolio Protection Investments will help secure BFTP/NEP’s existing investments in pre-COVID-19 viable and growing early-stage clients. The funding is provided to the start-ups as a zero percent loan.
The early-stage, technology-based firms within BFTP/NEP’s 21-county service area receiving funding include:
- Advanced Photonics Sciences in Friendsville, a premier manufacturer and supplier of lasers, optics, and photonics systems, will receive $100,000;
- Saladax Biomedical, Inc., Ben Franklin TechVentures, in Bethlehem will receive $100,000 to support the distribution of COVID-19 test and sales of the company’s test for measuring adherence to antipsychotic medications;
- LifeAire Systems, LLC, in Allentown will receive $100,000 to commercialize the company’s Aire-PPE Decontamination Unit (pending FDA approval), which kills COVID-19 and other bacteria, viruses, and fungi on the surface and within the layers of N-95 masks;
- US Specialty Formulations, LLC, Ben Franklin TechVentures, in Bethlehem will receive $75,000 to support the logistics and purchase of equipment to expand an analytical lab to meet steep demand for pre-clinical materials for use in a COVID-19 vaccine;
- OPTimo Information Technology, LLC, in Bloomsburg, will receive $62,500 to allow the company to develop a cloud-based process automation tool that will streamline business workflows and reduce operating costs for greater efficiency for major clients in the U.S. government; and
- Precision POS, LLC, in Jessup, which offers advanced tablet and cloud-based point-of-sale and online ordering support products to restaurant and other related food and beverage industries, will receive $35,000 to support product enhancements that address COVID-19 restrictions.