Three North Jersey startup tech firms get aid through state program

Three North Jersey tech and life science companies were approved for state financial aid under a program meant to steer investment money toward early-stage businesses.

State officials call the aid program the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, or simply the Net Operating Loss program.

The program enables certain early-stage technology and life sciences companies to “sell a percentage of their net operating losses and unused research and development tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations for cash,” says the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which oversees the program.

It’s particularly useful for “unprofitable companies,” said Debbie Hart, president and CEO of the life sciences trade group BioNJ, because it enables them to “sell their losses” for cash.

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“The funds can support things like R&D and salaries, things that are indispensable to a company's innovation,” said Kim Case, who heads the Research & Development Council of New Jersey.

The program is limited to New Jersey companies with up to 225 U.S employees, the state EDA says. It was started 25 years ago.

Who in North Jersey was approved?

The three companies in North Jersey that were approved were:

• Acuitive Technologies, a material technologies firm focusing on medical devices, based in Allendale.
• PDS Biotechnology Corp., focusing on multi-functional cancer immunotherapies, based in Florham Park.
• ElectroCore, a biotech firm that developed gammaCore, a handheld treatment for migraine and cluster headaches, based in Rockaway.

None of the three companies could be reached for comment by email on Wednesday afternoon.

All told, the state approved 26 separate startups for participation in the 2024 round of the program this month, totaling nearly $82 million in benefits, said a document from the Economic Development Authority.

Tim Sullivan, who heads the agency, estimated in June that since the program’s inception decades ago, over 580 companies have been approved to sell their net operating losses under the program, totaling over $1.95 billion in awards.

“As startups continue to grow in the Garden State, the NOL Program ensures emerging companies have access to the capital they need to succeed,” Sullivan said.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com ; Twitter: @danielmunoz100 and Facebook

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Three North Jersey startup tech firms get aid through state program