“Lunch & Learn” Series Among CCIT’s Array of Resources Beneficial to Kamat Pharmatech

Kamat Pharmatech employees working to development and manufacturing of novel injectable products and processes. From the viewer's left to the right: Amit Sen (Pharmaceutical Development Technician), Shridhar Kamat (Pharmaceutical Development Associate), Vikram Katragadda (Associate Director).

TRENTON (May 21, 2015) – As part of its ongoing commitment to support New Jersey’s technology and life sciences industry, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority hosted the latest in a series of Lunch & Learn discussions at its Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) last week.  

Tim O’Rourke and Gina De Tata of the accounting and advising firm EisnerAmper LLP moderated the program – “Choosing a Corporate Entity and Saving Taxes.” The discussion focused on questions facing New Jersey’s emerging technology companies, including: What type of entity should I establish?  What are the benefits and drawbacks to alternatives such as LLCs and C Corporations?  How does my entity structure impact my company’s (and my personal) taxes?  

When the topic of how to sell research and development credits came up, conversation turned to the state’s Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer (NOL) Program.  The program allows qualified technology and biotechnology companies to sell unused New Jersey net operating losses and research and development tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations to raise cash to finance their growth and operations.  In Fiscal Year 2015, 44 companies, including CCIT graduate Advaxis Immunotherapies, received an average of $1.2 million through the program, which is currently accepting applications for the state’s Fiscal Year 2016 allocation.  

CCIT tenant company Kamat Pharmatech LLC attended the Lunch & Learn; the technology-based pharmaceutical company specializes in the development, manufacturing, and approval of novel injectable products and processes, with a particular focus on biologics and oncology.

Shridhar Kamat, a pharmaceutical development associate at Kamat Pharmatech and son of the company’s Founder and CEO Madhav Kamat, explained to @NJEDATech what he gained from the session.

"I was introduced to the different business entity types and learned how the corporate structure determines the business' tax footprint,” he said. “The concepts we discussed were complicated relative to my personal involvement in business administration/operation, but with the introduction I gained at the Lunch & Learn, I feel comfortable being able to explore the topic on my own and feel confident with my ability to be conversant with the topic if /when we consider a corporate restructuring down the road."  

Since arriving at CCIT in 2013, Kamat Pharmatech has outgrown its space and plans to rent an additional lab, doubling the size of its footprint to 2,000 square feet at the North Brunswick-based facility.  Over the past two years, Kamat Pharmatech has taken advantage of many of the resources available to CCIT tenants.  The life sciences incubator offers affordable lab and office space, as well as help identifying funding sources, access to small business development resources, and a newly-implemented Executive-in-Residence program through which highly qualified life sciences professionals advise and mentor tenants.  Executive-in-Residence Dana Darst has a background in oncology and has been talking about strategic options with Kamat.

@NJEDATech also spoke with Shridhar Kamat about the company’s experience at CCIT and its plans for the future:

What have you found most helpful during your time at CCIT?
Establishing ourselves at CCIT has been one of our best business decisions. We have benefited greatly from the well-recognized name and have observed that broadcasting ourselves as part of CCIT’s umbrella establishes an immediate sense of familiarity and reputation with our clients. Among the many things CCIT has to offer, the most helpful has been the availability of all the amenities. Not only do we have state-of-the-art laboratories, we also have access to well-equipped conference rooms, friendly administrative staff, scientific resources such as autoclave and other analytical instruments. Furthermore, we particularly appreciate that constant efforts made by CCIT to connect my company with organizations and resources that can help grow our business.

What is Kamat Pharmatech’s biggest success to date?
Our biggest success to date has been that we have proven our business model. We have leveraged our expertise and experience in the field to successfully provide R&D services to our clients and are confident to continue doing so in the future.   

What’s on the horizon for Kamat Pharmatech?
We will be exhibiting at BIO 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and we hope to market ourselves competitively at this venue to generate more business for the months ahead. With our recent expansion into a second lab at CCIT, we plan on hiring additional scientists and are looking to grow our laboratory capabilities with some investments in new instruments and technologies.

For more information about the resources that CCIT offers, visit https://www.njeda.gov/ccit and follow @NJEDATech on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

Life science startup companies interested in finding out more about CCIT should contact Anne-Marie Maman at amaman@njeda.com or at CCIT’s main phone number (732) 839-1880.