Biotechnology commercialization company LaunchCyte LLC raised nearly $1 million in debt, options and warrants, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
The company pulled in $927,000 of the nearly $1.2 million it’s looking to raise, according to a May 2009 regulatory filing.
LaunchCyte’s model is to discover new technologies, create companies to bring those technologies to market, invest and help the companies land additional capital, then help the companies grow before exiting. Although similar to most venture capital models, LaunchCytes appears to get involved earlier in the company-formation process than most VCs. All of its six portfolio companies are based in Pennsylvania.
It’s unclear what plans LaunchCyte has for its latest round of funding. CEO Tom Petzinger didn’t return a call.
LaunchCyte’s portfolio companies include Immunetrics Inc., which develops software for clinical trials, Celsense Inc., which offers real-time imaging of transplanted cells, and Proteopure, which has developed a lab research kit.
Its most promising portfolio company may be Knopp Neurosciences, which is developing a drug to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease. The drug is in Phase II trials.
LaunchCyte began in 2000 and has previously received funding from the University of Pittsburgh.
