Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker’s final act in office was approving a $7.9 million state grant to the Hepatitis B Foundation to build “the first of its kind” nonprofit biotech incubator in Bucks County. In this 2024 photo, the former Governor gets a big round of applause when his photo goes onto our Public Service Wall of Fame.
The founders renovated a vacant 62,000-sq-ft warehouse into a research facility, opening with about 25 scientists and pioneering a nonprofit/commercial co-location model.
A second building was added to the PABC, which also is home to the Hepatitis B Foundation and Blumberg Institute, growing the site into a 10-acre, ~110,000-sq-ft research campus.
The PABC grew to 240 researchers across 35 startups and nonprofit labs, replacing 140 low-tech jobs lost when the previous occupant closed its doors; an independent 2010 audit put the regional economic impact at $165 million.
A hepatitis B antiviral drug developer that joined the incubator in 2015 (founded 2009) was acquired by Johnson & Johnson — a marquee scientific and financial win for a PABC portfolio company. The deal’s value reportedly exceeded $500 million.
Named one of the country’s most successful biotechnology incubators in an independent 2018 study.
This knee-osteoarthritis medical device company, backed in 2015 by the Bucks County Employees’ Retirement Board , created 20 local jobs and was later acquired by Avanos Medical for $130 million cash plus up to $30 million in contingent payments.
The PABC’s footprint increased by 40% with the opening of a new 37,000-sq-ft building. It houses labs, offices, an event space and more.
The tenant roster grew from 32 companies in 2013 to roughly 50 by 2022, and closer to 100 member companies more recently.
PABC expanded into Philadelphia in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust, and the space quickly reached full occupancy.
$10+ billion in cumulative regional economic impact was generated over the organization’s first 16 years, including $7.3 billion and 1,135 new jobs between 2016–2021 alone.
PABC’s affiliated venture fund, targeting $50 million, secured major commitments including $10 million from Daiichi Sankyo, $2 million from Provco Group, and up to $5 million from the Bucks County Employees’ Retirement Board.
Backed by a $5 million state investment to fund early-stage life sciences companies across both the Doylestown and Philadelphia sites, the PABC launched its new Academic Innovation Zone. To date, 19 flourishing biotech companies in Doylestown and Philadelphia have received grants through the program.
Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development Acting Secretary Rick Siger visited the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Doylestown to speak with leaders in Pennsylvania’s growing innovation economy and discuss the Shapiro Administration’s plan to support their continued success.
In its 10th year, the event awarded a $250,000 direct investment to the winning biotech company which is the region’s biggest prize of its kind.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya toured PABC at Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s invitation, calling it “a unique biomedical ecosystem” — national-level recognition of the center’s role in federally-funded biomedical research which also connects to the Blumberg Institute’s $32.3 million NIAID contract to develop a yellow fever treatment, the institute’s largest research award ever.