Golden Seeds Opens Office in PLSG Incubator

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Seeds, an investment firm dedicated to achieving above market returns for investors through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, announced today that it has opened an office at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to support the growing number of investments the firm has made in the city and state-wide in Pennsylvania.  Since its first Pittsburgh investment in 2006 in Redpath Pathologies, a molecular diagnostics company, Golden Seed has subsequently made three investments in the city – Carnegie Speech, Towercare Technologies and Cognition Therapeutics, as well as Saladax in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  

The announcement will be made today at a luncheon hosted by Alicia McGinnis, Susan Catalano and Joy Borelli-Edwards at the borelli-edwards galleries, and co-hosted by Innovation Works and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.  

"We have a long history of investing in Pittsburgh companies," said Stephanie Hanbury-Brown, CEO of Golden Seeds.  "We recognized the value of the strong support the local ecosystem provides for entrepreneurs.  Pennsylvania has several state programs that are extraordinarily supportive early stage companies, and Pittsburgh has been particularly active in nurturing them – including Ben Franklin Technologies, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and Innovation Works."

"These programs have made it easy for us to invest in several of the excellent companies we have seen from the region," confirmed Nada Jain, Managing Partner for Golden Seeds Fund 2 LP, who travels regularly to Pittsburgh to fulfill her obligations as a board member of Cognition Therapeutics.  Ms. Jain, Ph.D. is an intellectual property lawyer who led the Golden Seeds 2010 investment in Pittsburgh's Cognition Therapeutics, a life sciences company focused on small molecule therapeutics targeting the toxic proteins that cause the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.

"We are thrilled to have Golden Seeds join the list of venture firms and strategic partners joining PLSG and our portfolio companies in our new 'life sciences center for excellence facility'," said John W. Manzetti, PLSG's President and CEO. "Golden Seeds has already made a strong commitment to the technology community in our region, and we look forward to a long and growing relationship between our organizations."

"We were delighted to have has Golden Seeds lead our $2.3 million Series A-1 financing at the end of last year," said Susan Catalano, Chief Scientific Officer of Cognition Therapeutics.  "The group's rigorous due-diligence process, including independent scientific reviews from both Harvard and Stanford, was additive to our efforts."

Hank Safferstein, Cognition's CEO said,  "We are very pleased to see Golden Seeds open an office here locally in Pittsburgh and are glad the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse was able to facilitate it."

Tim O'Neill, one of the eight managing partners of Golden Seeds Fund 2 LP, will also be present at the luncheon, along with Lynn Baine, Investor Relations and a member of the fund's General Partnership.

About Golden Seeds

Golden Seeds is an investment fund dedicated to achieving above market returns for investors through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.  Golden Seeds has four primary operations fulfilling its purpose: an Angel Forum consisting of approximately 200 men and women (the fourth-largest in the U.S.); a growing family of Venture Capital Funds (Fund 2 remains open for investment through December 15, 2011); an educational Academy; and a Private Equity business.  (www.goldenseeds.com)

About the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG)

The PLSG invests in and supports the growth of the biosciences companies in western Pennsylvania.  PLSG has a track record of excellence when it comes to attracting and growing life sciences companies in the region.  Since its inception in 2001, PLSG has assisted 335 life sciences companies and has helped create or retain nearly 6,000 jobs in western Pennsylvania.  Thirty-five companies have been provided with office or laboratory space, and 13 have been relocated to Pittsburgh from outside of the region.  In addition, the PLSG has invested $17.3 million in 63 companies, which has leveraged $624 million in additional capital to the region.  (www.plsg.com)

About Cognition Therapeutics

Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., is focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics targeting the toxic proteins that cause the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases of the human brain.  Cognition is founded on the unique combination of biological expertise around these targets, including proprietary assays that emphasize functional responses and proprietary medicinal chemistry that ensures novel, high-quality, small molecule drug candidates.  (www.cognitiontherapeutics.com)

SOURCE Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse