NCBiotech SGL Loan Cap Raised to $500K

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Cash is survival for young life science companies.

And there’s going to be more of it for a select few, thanks to a hike in the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Strategic Growth Loan program.

NCBiotech officials have doubled the SGL cap from $250,000 to $500,000 for companies with exceptional chances for success -- and a solid angel or venture match.

The SGL, currently set at the prime lending rate plus 3 percent, was designed to help North Carolina life science companies reach specific and meaningful milestones that can lead to more money from other investors and/or to commercialize their products. 

Successful SGL applicants need to have matching commitments from one or more organized angel groups or venture capital firms. 

Most banks don’t lend money to biotech startups. It takes a special kind of gambler to underwrite an idea that in most cases carries no guarantee except that it will likely chew through at least a decade of life and millions of dollars before cashback or collapse.

That’s why the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s funding programs have been the lifeblood of life science entrepreneurship for three decades, helping lift North Carolina from impoverished potential to a leading position in the field.

NCBiotech has made more than 200 small-company loans totaling over $22 million. The companies have leveraged that support into more than $2.6 billion in additional funding. Put another way, every $1 in an NCBiotech loan becomes $117 in subsequent funding.

The 74 companies in the NCBiotech loan portfolio generate $71 million a year in state and local tax revenues. That’s nearly four times the state's annual appropriation for NCBiotech.

SGL program information and contact details are available here.