Philly companies and entrepreneurs are closing out 2025 with a wave of local resources to tap next year.
The life sciences ecosystem gets a boost as Thermo Fisher Scientific opens a new resource hub in partnership with BioLabs Philadelphia. The University City Science Center also announced the next cohort of its Capital Readiness Program.
Plus, Hopeworks hosted its annual young entrepreneurs pitch competition, awarding cash prizes to the finalists. Scroll down for all the details and more power moves.
Thermo Fisher builds life sciences resource hub
Global science equipment and services company Thermo Fisher Scientific will provide support to local life sciences companies through its new Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center at BioLabs Philadelphia.
BioLabs, a global incubator for life science companies, has had a presence in Philly since 2018 and is currently located in the Curtis Building. Its member companies and external life sciences firms will have access to Thermo Fisher’s products, equipment and expertise.
“Our collaboration with BioLabs for Advanced Therapeutics in Philadelphia reflects a strategic effort to meet researchers where they are,” Betty Woo, a consultant and former vice president of cell, gene and advanced therapies at Thermo Fisher, told Technical.ly, “supporting them from the earliest stages of discovery through to clinical development and commercial scale-up.”
Thermo Fisher selected Philly for its first East Coast Collaboration Center because of the concentration of research institutions and biotech activity in the region, Woo said.
Science Center announces ninth Capital Readiness cohort
The University City Science Center announced the participants for its ninth Capital Readiness Program cohort, including local startups Ajaya Bio, Trevarx Therapeutics and TheraV.
The five-day program welcomes domestic and international healthtech companies to Philadelphia for intensive fundraising programming. Access to funding resources for biotech companies is especially important as the sector has faced VC struggles over the past few years.
Since launching in 2023, the program has worked with 80 companies that have collectively raised over $178 million. Standout Philly companies like Vital Start Health, Vasowatch and Trace Orthopedics have all completed the program.
“Startups today face not only capital competition but also complex regulatory, reimbursement, and market-access headwinds,” said Tiffany Wilson, president and CEO of the Science Center. “Our Capital Readiness Program is engineered to demystify the fundraising process, elevate leadership readiness, and build resilient, high-impact companies for their next stage of growth.”
Young entrepreneurs win thousands at Hopeworks pitch competition
Workforce development org Hopeworks hosted its sixth annual fall pitch competition last month, awarding thousands of dollars to two young entrepreneurs from its program.
Michaela Goins won the audience choice award and one of the grand prizes for her sustainable fashion company, Revive with Pride. The company revamps thrifted clothing and creates personalized style bundles. She walked away with $3,500 to support the development of her business.
“Winning these awards reminds me that when you follow your passion, others feel it too,” Goins said. “With this support, I’m ready to create spaces where more people can explore who they are through upcycled fashion and find confidence in their own unique style.”
Kirah Boyd won the other $2,500 grand prize with her crochet business, Hooked on Kirah, which makes clothing, teaches classes and organizes community events. The funding will help her host more events, open a studio space and increase her digital presence, according to Hopeworks.
More power moves:
- Robotics company Sojo Industries appointed Benjamin Tanner as its COO and Chad Hagen as chief commercial officer.
- Longtime Philly tech leader Gloria Bell started a new role as director of operations at coding school Zip Code Wilmington.
- Daniel J. O’Connor is the new president and CEO of Yardley-based biopharmaceutical company Jubilant Therapeutics.
- Temple University spinout ThirdLaw Molecular changed its name to Ladder Bio, announced a $5.5 million seed funding round and appointed Eric Heil as the company’s new CEO.
- Radnor-based Certara, which develops software for drug development, announced Jon Resnick as its new CEO and as a member of its board of directors, effective Jan. 1.
- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission won Info-Tech Research Group’s 2025 Innovator of the Year award for its Elevate IT initiative. This program integrated tech into projects like open road tolling and operating its fiber optic broadband network.
- Local companies dbt Labs, Globo and Aclaris Therapeutics made it onto this year’s Deloitte North American Technology Fast 500 list, which ranks companies based on growth.
- Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order establishing the Office of Business Impact and Economic Advancement in November. The order also includes a program that requires the city to invest in small and local businesses. This move comes after a legal challenge to the city’s previous policy for contracting with minority and women-owned businesses.
- The Wistar Institute selected Vincent Wu as a Caspar Wistar Fellow at its Vaccine and Immunology Center. Wu’s research is focused on HIV.
- Jami McKeon, chair of Morgan Lewis, won the 2025 William Penn Award from the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
- George Prendergast, president and CEO of Wynnewood-based Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, was chosen as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, which highlights academic inventors for their contributions.
