Ben Franklin Technology Partners invests $2 million in regional companies

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania announced yesterday plans to invest $2.05 million in 11 companies in and around Philadelphia.
The regional partner of the statewide economic development network bought $750,000 worth of three Philadelphia companies and spent the rest on eight groups in the ‘burbs.
In a struggling economy, that’s good news. Technology companies funded by BFTP boosted the gross state product by an estimated $9.3 billion from 2002 to 2006, according to a study released by the Pennsylvania Economy League last month.
The largest investment was $400,000 for BioNanomatrix, a University City developer of analytic and imaging platforms that aim to reduce the time and cost used to analyze DNA. BioNanomatrix has previously received $250,000 from BFTP.
The other two Philly BFTP investments were $250,000 in Niiki Pharma, which develops cancer treatment drugs and is based in the same University City building as BioNanomatrix, and $75,000 in Larger than Life Prints, a Center City company that sells large-scale, reusable wall decals from customer images. Niiki Pharma has previously scored a $500,000 BFTP investment.
Two suburban companies received $250,000 investments: West Chester-based digital audio networking manufacturer Aviom and Onconova Therapeutics, a Newtown developer of cancer treatment products that has scored another $250,000 investment in the past.
The 11 companies listed by size of the investment from BFTP:

1. BioNanomatrix, University City — $400,000
2. Niiki Pharma, University City – $250,000
3. Aviom, West Chester – $250,000
4. Onconova Therapeutics, Newtown – $250,000
5. Versify Solutions, of Chadds Ford, which provides products and services for power traders and power generation managers – $200,000
6. Healthy Humans, of Wayne, which helps people with chronic illnesses develop plans to improve their health – $150,000
7. Syandus, of Exton, which develops medical simulations to help doctors better learn to diagnose and manage diseases – $150,000
8. Apptastics, of Fort Washington, which consults companies on social media as a marketing tool – $125,000
9. Spectrum Devices, of Hatfield, which makes silicon radio-frequency power transmitters – $120,000
10. PayParade, of Fort Washington, which helps retailers use social media to drive Web traffic – $75,000
11. Larger than Life, Center City – $75,000