They’re hiring: Philly investment firm 1315 Capital makes a big bet on Biocoat, maker of coatings for medical devices
Philly's fast-growing 1315 Capital has invested at least $10 million in Horsham-based Biocoat, which makes coatings for medical devices inserted in people
1315 Capital, the Philadelphia-based, $500 million-asset medical-healthcare-drug investment firm founded by Adele C. Oliva (ex of Quaker BioVentures and Apax Partners) and Michael Koby (Palm Ventures) in 2014, said Tuesday it bought control last month of Biocoat Inc., a 50+-employee Horsham firm that makes biomaterial coatings for medical devices. The company says it will use the money to hire a lot more people, add products and go after new business.
The buyer promised to finance “a more aggressive and growth-oriented approach” at Biocoat, which was founded in 1991 and supplies lubricated, water-soluble, Hydak-brand coatings to manufacturers of eye, heart and other medical devices. 1315 didn’t immediately say how much it invested; the firm says it typically invests at least $10 million in the companies it backs. Koby called the deal “a great fit" for 1315′s focus on growing health-related companies.
The deal “allows Biocoat to further increase research and development,” and reach “a broader range of customers,” Biocoat chairman, Scott Cramer, said in a statement. President Jim Moran added that 1315 offers “strategic support and expertise.” Biocoat R&D chief Robert Hergenrother is taking the company’s products on the road, speaking in Anaheim, Calif. at SPE’s Medical Plastics Minitec on Feb. 4 and exhibiting at MD&M West on Feb. 5-7 .