GrowFL Announces Lacerta Therapeutics as an Honoree: 11th Annual Florida Companies to Watch

ALACHUA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lacerta Therapeutics is pleased to be among the top 50 second-stage companies in Florida selected as an 11th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch honoree, a statewide competition that identifies companies expected to see significant growth over the next several years. The 11th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch awards celebration is sponsored by Nperspective CFO & Strategic Services, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation.

A panel of independent judges comprised of past honorees, economic development leaders and corporate partners of GrowFL selected 50 honorees. Companies were judged on several criteria including growth in number of employees; impact of the business in the job market; increase in sales and/or unit volume; current and past financial reports; innovativeness of the product or service; response to adversity; and contributions to aid community-oriented projects.

“This group of Honorees represents 20 counties, 20 different industries and almost 50% of them are women, veteran or minority-owned. They have demonstrated notable growth and have the courage and tenacity it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Despite the challenges thrown their way and pivoting through a pandemic, these companies embody the unshakeable resiliency of Florida’s entrepreneurs,” said Lisa McIntosh, GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Chair and founder of C-E-Optimal Advisors.

“We are truly honored to be recognized by GrowFL as one of Florida’s best,” said Edgar Rodriguez-Lebron, PhD, CEO of Lacerta Therapeutics. “We are proud of our Florida roots and will continue to reach for new heights, lifted by the inspirational and entrepreneurial spirit that has defined us from the beginning.”

“Year after year, these outstanding companies continue to impress me. These are the CEOs, managers, and team members who are making the biggest impact on our state’s economy,” said Russell Slappey, CEO of Nperspective CFO & Strategic Services and event title sponsor. “They deserve to be celebrated now and into the future as they continue to grow, continue to innovate and continue to be a company we all should watch.”

To qualify for the award, companies must be headquartered in Florida and have between 6 and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million in 2020. Even through the pandemic, these companies projected continued growth in 2021, with a 62% revenue increase and 49% growth in employees compared to 2020. If their projections hold, these companies will have generated $1.7 billion in revenue and added more than 1,500 employees over the last five years — a 263% increase in revenue and a 206% increase in jobs since 2017.

In addition to the GrowFL award, Lacerta Therapeutics was recently honored as the 2021 Alachua Chamber Business of the Year. The title recognizes Lacerta’s expansion in the biotechnology sector and its leadership and impact on the development of the Alachua biotech corridor.

About Lacerta Therapeutics:

Lacerta Therapeutics, Inc. is focused on exploiting our proprietary capsid technology and scalable manufacturing platform to advance AAV-based therapies via three primary approaches: gene replacement, gene modulation and novel vectorization of antibodies. Website: https://lacertatx.com

About GrowFL:

GrowFL is dedicated to support and accelerate the growth of second-stage companies throughout Florida, by providing their leaders focused, efficient, and timely access to resources they deem important, such as connections with other second-stage company leaders, and to professional organizations whose expertise, experience, and products lead to the second-stage company’s continued growth and prosperity resulting in diversification and growth of Florida’s economy. Second-stage growth companies have at least 6 employees and $750,000 in revenue and possess the intent and desire to grow beyond second-stage. Website: https://www.growfl.com