Hatch BioFund Announces New Partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust

Rhea-AI Summary

Hatch BioFund Management LLC (Hatch BioFund) and Brandywine Realty Trust (Brandywine) announced a new partnership to support the advancement of life sciences companies in Greater Philadelphia. Hatch BioFund is an early-stage life sciences venture capital firm, and Brandywine is one of the largest publicly traded real estate companies in the US. The partnership aims to provide crucial support for growing life science organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region. Partners include Daiichi Sankyo, the Hepatitis B Foundation, and two successful life science incubator/accelerators. The collaboration underscores the commitment to the region's reputation as a center for novel medicine discovery and development.

Insights

Financial Analyst

The strategic partnership between Hatch BioFund and Brandywine Realty Trust is a significant development within the life sciences sector, particularly for the Greater Philadelphia area. The involvement of a real estate giant like Brandywine provides Hatch BioFund with a robust platform to foster the growth of early-stage life science companies. This collaboration highlights a trend of real estate firms diversifying into high-potential industries, which could have positive implications for regional economic development and the real estate market.

From an investment standpoint, the partnership may enhance Brandywine's portfolio diversification and potentially offer new revenue streams. For Hatch BioFund, access to Brandywine's resources could accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies, potentially leading to successful exits through IPOs or acquisitions, which would benefit investors. The support from a global pharmaceutical company like Daiichi Sankyo further adds credibility and resources to the initiative, potentially leading to more significant innovations and marketable therapies.

Medical Research Analyst

The collaboration is poised to catalyze the biotech ecosystem in Philadelphia, already renowned for its clinical and research prowess. The partnership's focus on early-stage capital and industry expertise is crucial for the development of cutting-edge therapies. Hatch BioFund's alignment with entities like the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute suggests a strategic focus on therapeutic areas that require significant research and development efforts.

Given the recent biotechnology hub designation by the Biden administration, the region is set to become even more attractive for biotech investments, potentially leading to breakthroughs in novel medicine discovery. For stakeholders, this could mean a surge in high-quality research outputs, more job creation in the life sciences sector and increased demand for specialized real estate, such as laboratories and office spaces tailored for biotech companies.

Industry Analyst

This partnership is indicative of the broader industry trend where collaboration between real estate, venture capital and biotech sectors is becoming increasingly common. By providing both capital and physical infrastructure, such partnerships are essential for nurturing innovation in the life sciences industry. The Greater Philadelphia area's existing reputation for medical research, combined with this new initiative, positions it as a burgeoning hub for life sciences. This could attract more companies and talent to the region, thereby enhancing its economic profile.

For the broader life sciences industry, this partnership may serve as a blueprint for similar collaborations in other regions. It underscores the importance of integrated support systems for startups in the sector, encompassing funding, expertise and specialized facilities. The long-term impact could be a more dynamic and competitive life sciences industry, with faster development cycles for new therapies and a supportive environment for entrepreneurs.

The collaboration will support the advancement of life sciences companies in Greater Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hatch BioFund Management LLC (“Hatch BioFund”), an early- stage life sciences venture capital firm headquartered in the Philadelphia region, and Brandywine Realty Trust (“Brandywine”), one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States, announced today a new partnership to support the advancement of life sciences companies in Greater Philadelphia.

“We are proud that Brandywine selected Hatch BioFund as its investment partner,” said Lorenzo Pellegrini, Ph.D., managing partner of Hatch BioFund. “Brandywine’s platform will be invaluable in our team’s effort to support the growth of exceptional life science entrepreneurs in the Greater Philadelphia region. Our unique expertise and range of complementary stakeholders provide crucial support and connection points for these growing organizations.”

Formed in 2023, Hatch BioFund provides early-stage capital to promising life science companies, along with access to deep industry expertise and physical platforms to help them realize their missions. In addition to Brandywine, partners include Daiichi Sankyo, a leading, global pharmaceutical company; the Hepatitis B Foundation, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B, and the Foundation’s research arm, the Blumberg Institute; and two very successful life science incubator/accelerators: the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, located in Doylestown, Pa., and B+labs, located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pa.

“We are delighted to welcome Hatch BioFund to our growing network of life science partners,” said Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to the Greater Philadelphia region and to ensuring that Philadelphia continues to advance its reputation as a center for novel medicine discovery and development.”

“We welcome Brandywine to Hatch BioFund,” said Stu Mackey, Global Head of Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo. “At Daiichi Sankyo, we are committed to exploring and investing in a variety of avenues to improve health and extend lives. We are proud to partner with Hatch BioFund to support the advancement of innovative companies that share our goal of delivering important medicines to our global community.”

“Access to elite lab and office spaces in the context of a collaborative network is a key determinant to success for nascent biotech companies,” said Louis Kassa, a founder of Hatch BioFund and CEO of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), Blumberg Institute and Hepatitis B Foundation. “Our organizations look forward to working with Brandywine, Daiichi Sankyo and Hatch BioFund to provide a fertile environment for our incubator companies and develop the Philadelphia region as a major biotech hub.”

Philadelphia has long been a city recognized around the globe for its world-class research institutions and clinical expertise. This reputation was further strengthened by the recent clinical success of advanced therapies being forged in the city, including the first FDA-approved cell and gene therapies and the Nobel Prize-winning research that led to the development of highly effective, mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines. Additionally, Philadelphia was recently named one of five regions in the country to receive a biotechnology hub designation from the Biden administration.

About Brandywine Realty Trust

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of Sept. 30, 2023, which excludes assets held for sale. Our purpose is to shape, connect and inspire the world around us through our expertise, the relationships we foster, the communities in which we live and work, and the history we build together. For more information, please visit www.brandywinerealty.com.

About Hatch BioFund

Hatch BioFund is a life sciences venture capital firm headquartered in the Philadelphia region, one of the fastest-growing biotech hubs in the world. At Hatch, we provide early-stage capital to promising life science companies, along with access to deep industry expertise and physical platforms to help them realize their missions. We put collaboration at the center of everything we do, with a core mission of delivering key support to exceptional entrepreneurs working on life-changing scientific solutions. We are proud to include highly successful pharma companies, real estate developers, research institutions and biotech incubators among our partners. They provide us and our portfolio companies with unique expertise and synergies. We are committed to working closely with our partners to meet our investment returns goals and their strategic objectives. For more information, please visit www.hatchbiofund.com.

About Daiichi Sankyo

Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development of society that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around the world. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science and technology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases with high unmet medical need. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com.

About the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center

Located in Doylestown, Pa., in the heart of the Philadelphia-New Jersey pharma belt, the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) is a nonprofit life sciences incubator-accelerator offering state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to nearly 50 early-stage biotech companies. The PABC uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success, advancing biotechnology, maximizing synergies among nonprofit scientists and their commercial colleagues, and launching new ideas and discoveries. To date, more than 75 companies have called PABC their home. PABC tenants account for 17% of all NIH SBIR grants awarded in Pennsylvania and over the years have created billions of dollars in market value from IPOs, acquisitions and commercial valuations. For more information, please visit www.pabiotechbc.org.

About B+labs

B+labs is a newly constructed, state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot life sciences incubator in the heart of University City, Philadelphia, a hub for top talent and renowned healthcare and academic institutions. Powered by the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), it provides flexible plug & play lab and research space within a specialized network of resources, programming, and expertise. B+labs is part of Brandywine's Life Science ecosystem, which provides life science companies with the platform to grow into bigger users in the region, with flexibility for seamless expansion into larger graduation space. For more information, please visit www.brandywinerealty.com/blabs.

About the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute

The Foundation is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. Founded in 1991, the Hepatitis B Foundation is based in Doylestown, Pa. In 2003, the Foundation launched the Blumberg Institute as an independent, nonprofit research organization to advance its research mission. Today, the Institute is one of the nation’s leading centers for translational research in hepatitis B and liver cancer. The Institute supports drug discovery, biomarker discovery and translational biotechnology around common research themes such as chronic hepatitis, liver disease and liver cancer in an environment conducive to interaction, collaboration and focus. For more information, please visit www.hepb.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231220128441/en/

Ed Tate, 267-923-3475

edward.tate@pabiotechbc.org

Source: Hatch BioFund Management LLC

FAQ

What is the new partnership announced by Hatch BioFund and Brandywine Realty Trust?

The new partnership aims to support the advancement of life sciences companies in Greater Philadelphia.

What is the focus of Hatch BioFund?

Hatch BioFund is an early-stage life sciences venture capital firm that provides early-stage capital to promising life science companies.

Who are the partners of Hatch BioFund?

Partners include Daiichi Sankyo, the Hepatitis B Foundation, and two successful life science incubator/accelerators.

What is the goal of the collaboration?

The collaboration aims to provide crucial support for growing life science organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region.

What is the significance of the collaboration for the region?

The collaboration underscores the commitment to the region's reputation as a center for novel medicine discovery and development.