How Philly’s BioLattice is making the jump from grants to VC

Winning pitch competitions and getting industry recognition don’t always lead to funding.

For Amelia Zellander, founder and CEO of the tissue engineering startup BioLattice, it took six years to get the “proper funding” to pursue the biotechnology, which she finally secured at the end of 2023.

Innovations like biomaterial to repair the front layer of the eye — an alternative to traditional cornea transplants — can be risky to develop, she said. In the current climate of risk-averse investors, that makes biotech money difficult to land. 

It was ultimately federal funding (the same programs now in limbo under the Trump administration) that made Zellander’s initial research possible. Now she’s seeking venture capital to maintain that momentum.

“My journey with this company in this form really started in 2017,” Zellander told reporter Sarah Huffman on Technical.ly Speaking, a monthly segment on WURD Radio’s “Reality Check” hosted by Tonya Pendleton. “I applied for federal funding multiple times before I finally got the Phase One [National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research] grant.”

The funding served as a launch pad. Since starting a research partnership with Lehigh University, BioLattice has landed an $80,000 first-place prize at a pitch competition. More recently, Zellander was named Startup of the Year at BioLabs’ third annual investor day.

BioLattice is continuing its growth trajectory as a member of the inaugural HiveBio accelerator cohort. This is helping build the company’s brand and supporting its path to securing investors, per Zellander.

“I have been getting a little bit of funding, but I’m just still in the battle to build my reputation,” she said, “to build the trust with investors, and to present the need.”

While positive recognition is useful in general, it doesn’t always translate into dollars, Zellander said. As BioLattice gears up to raise its next $2 million to support the prototyping phase, she’s hoping to make sure it can turn the accolades into securing VCs.

BioLattice is currently in a preclinical, prototype stage. Its CorneaClear technology is compatible with rabbit eyes, and now needs more testing to conduct a formal animal study. 

“Storytelling is the biggest thing,” Zellander said. “Investors want to know: How are they going to get their investment back?”