Ablitech receives more ‘Seed’ money from MTA

RIDGELAND and HATTIESBURG — Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA) president and CEO Tony Jeff announced that Ablitech Inc., a biotechnology company based in Hattiesburg, has received a second round Research and Development investment from the Mississippi Seed Fund.

Ridgeland-based MTA invested $100,000 in Ablitech for further product and market development of Versadel, the company’s proprietary gene therapeutic delivery technology.

Ablitech received a first-round investment of $100,000 from the Seed Fund in Sept. 2009. The company achieved all goals and milestones in their first round of funding, which made them eligible for second round funding.

“MTA’s investment helps move our technology for delivering gene therapeutics from the laboratory to the marketplace,” said Ken Malone, co-founder and CEO of Ablitech.

The Mississippi Seed Fund was established by the Mississippi Legislature to provide start-up technology companies with access to pre-seed financing, early stage risk capital and product development capital to accelerate the development of high-performance, innovation-based business ventures in Mississippi. The fund is managed by the MTA.

Recipients must have a cash match from accredited investors to obtain funding.