Philly Is Not The Underdog For Life Sciences (Or Football)
February 7, 2023
Joanna Glasner
When Americans think about Philadelphia, hometown of the Super Bowl-bound Eagles, images that first come to mind likely revolve around cheesesteaks, Rocky and the Liberty Bell.
Startups, not so much.
In reality, however, Philly and its environs actually constitute one of the larger U.S. hubs for health and biotech founders. The City of Brotherly Love is also no slouch in the tech and fintech departments.
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Funding numbers back up that assessment. Since 2022, investors have poured over $2.5 billion into venture and growth rounds for local companies, according to an analysis of Crunchbase data. Life sciences funding increased sharply year over year for the region, even as overall U.S.venture funding declined, with the seven biggest financings highlighted below:“There’s a lot of positive momentum,” said Audrey Greenberg, co-founder of the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a cell and gene therapy contract development, manufacturing and testing organization. The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company closed on $350 million last year in the metro area’s largest startup funding round.
Not the underdog
With the Eagles poised for what could be their second Super Bowl victory in six years, Greenberg sees similarities between the local football and life science trajectories. The common theme: A city with a longtime underdog reputation is staging a serious comeback.It’s a notion Greenberg likes to promote with two of her favored hashtags: #NotTheUnderdog and #celliconvalley. While the first could refer to either sports or science, the second one is definitively a nod to Philadelphia’s history as a hub for cell and gene therapy.
Read the full article at: news.crunchbase.com
