Innovation Philadelphia Makes Seed Investment in Chaperone Technologies
By VentureWire Staff Reporters
2/23/2004
Philadelphia -- Innovation Philadelphia, a city-funded partnership focused on increasing entrepreneurial activity and economic development in the greater Philadelphia region, said it has made a seed investment in Wayne, Pa.-based Chaperone Technologies, a start-up focused on the development of antimicrobial products.

Innovation Philadelphia's managing director and vice president of investments, Chris Starr, said that Chaperone's seed round also included participation from a number of individual investors. He declined to comment on the round's total, but said that typical investments from the partnership range anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000.

The start-up is being incubated by the venture firm Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners, said Mr. Starr; the firm has not, however, made an equity investment in Chaperone. "They're providing space and counsel, and it is our hope that at some point, [Chaperone] will be a candidate for investments from that firm," he added.

Chaperone is developing novel antimicrobials, antifungals, and antiparsitics that target multi-drug resistant organisms across a broad range of infectious diseases. The company, which stems from research at the University of Pennsylvania's Wistar Institute, is focusing initially on the development of a preclinical candidate for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections.

Over time Chaperone will look to develop products for treating a broader array of multi-drug resistant organisms and fungi, such as those responsible for respiratory tract infections (especially in cystic fibrosis patients), as well as gastrointestinal infections and fungal parasitic diseases.


http://www.chaperonetechnologies.com/