Thermo Fisher sponsors biotechnology center in Doylestown to promote growth of life sciences
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a maker of scientific and healthcare equipment with operations in the Lehigh Valley, is now backing a biotechnology campus in Bucks County.
The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) said Wednesday that Thermo Fisher is now a founding sponsor of the Doylestown campus and a so-called "incubator" in Philadelphia, where start-up life sciences companies can operate while they develop products for the market.
The goal is to take advantage of the Philadelphia area's strength in pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The industry draws investment and jobs to the region. The PABC aims to help small companies get bigger.
"Emerging life science companies face many hurdles as they bring new discoveries from scientific idea to approved medicine," Abhinav Akhoury, vice president of corporate accounts for Thermo Fisher, said in a statement.
The not-for-profit PABC provides laboratory and office space to early-stage companies. It is home to more than 40 companies, according to the joint statement from Thermo Fisher and the PABC.
As a sponsor of the PABC's B+Labs incubator in Philadelphia, Thermo Fisher will provide technology and expertise to emerging companies.
Commercial real estate firm Newmark's 2020 year-end report ranked Philadelphia sixth in the U.S. for life sciences. The Boston area, home to Thermo Fisher, is No. 1, followed by the San Francisco area, San Diego, Raleigh/Durham in North Carolina and Seattle at No. 5.
In July, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher reported $10.97 billion in second-quarter revenue. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol TMO. Shares in the company were trading at $537.21 at 10:24 a.m. The market value of the company at that price is $210 billion.