By RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, President and CEO
Every day, health-care advances provide hope to families across Pennsylvania and throughout the nation, while allowing dedicated professionals to more efficiently and effectively care for our loved ones. These breakthroughs truly change the world in which we live, inspire us to re-examine what we once thought possible and help health-care providers align their time and resources better with needs of patients and their families.
Over the last 36 years, Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs in our quest to drive Pennsylvania’s innovation economy. We’re proud of our portfolio of clients and celebrate the advanced products some of the Commonwealth’s best and brightest minds bring to market.
Here are some examples of southeastern Pennsylvania companies that are impacting health care for us all and helping to redefine what innovation means.
Allevi is a robotics company that builds versatile, powerful and easy-to-use 3D bioprinters capable of building custom replacement organs constructed out of human cells. The company’s innovative approach helps leading researchers around the world cure disease, test novel drugs and eliminate the organ waiting list. In 2018, Allevi grew its headcount to ten full-time employees, while also securing $1.3 million in follow-on funding. The company has secured 11 patents since 2015 and counts MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, GSK, Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Army among the researchers using its products.
InstaMed has revolutionized health care by creating a platform that connects consumers, providers and payers for every type of medical service transaction, resulting in an easier, more efficient experience. The company continues to foster ongoing collaboration inside the regional technology community and impacts Philadelphia’s innovation economy in a multitude of ways by actively hiring local talent. In recent years, InstaMed has scaled its staff to 275 people, the majority of whom are located in the company’s new Philadelphia headquarters. In May of 2019, JP Morgan announced its purchase of InstaMed for $500 million, keeping the company and team in its Philadelphia headquarters. InstaMed continues to give back to the Philadelphia’s innovation ecosystem in multiple ways, by actively hiring local talent and by supporting ongoing collaboration inside the regional technology community.