The New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced Friday that it has sent final approval letters last week to the 49 technology and life sciences companies that are participating in the 2020 Net Operating Loss Program.
The NOL Program enables participants to sell their New Jersey net operating losses and unused research & development tax credits to unrelated, profitable corporations for cash. The cash can then be used for working capital or to fund research.
The program, hailed as a lifeline for New Jersey companies that have yet to reach profitability, is administered jointly by the EDA and the Department of Treasury’s Division of Taxation.
The average award for companies approved to sell their net operating losses through the program in 2020 was $1.1 million. Fourteen of the 49 participating companies set to receive funding are participating in the NOL Program for the first time. Those new to the program are noted with an asterisk in the listing at the bottom of this story.
To date, more than $1.07 billion in funding has been distributed to over 550 technology and life sciences companies since the program’s inception in the late 1990s.
The NOL Program got a boost in January 2021, when Gov. Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020. Part of the act increased the program’s annual cap from $60 million to $75 million. It also increased the lifetime cap for an individual applicant from $15 million to $20 million.
Tim Sullivan, the CEO of the EDA, said the NOL Program historically has been one of the most sought-after programs by entrepreneurs.
“Thanks to action taken by Gov. Murphy and the Legislature, we will be able to connect even more companies with access to capital in the coming years,” he said. “This, in turn, will lead to additional job creation within New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem and to the advancement of life-saving and life-enhancing technologies.”
In addition to being vital to emerging companies, the NOL Program also provides enormous benefits to the profitable companies that are buying the net operating losses and unused R&D tax credits.
A profitable company can purchase tax credits at a discount, based on the market price at the time. These tax credits have traditionally traded somewhere between 88 and 94 cents on the dollar. Once purchased, the tax credits can then be applied to potentially reduce the buyer’s state tax obligation. The names of the buyers who chose to be publicly listed are on the NOL Program’s website.
The EDA plans to open the application for the 2021 NOL Program in early May.
Here’s a county-by-county look at the 49 companies:
Bergen
- Acuitive Technologies (Allendale)
- Elite Laboratories (Montvale)
Essex
- Gadget Software Inc. (Newark)
- Rafael Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Newark)
- WellSheet Inc. (Newark)
Hudson
- Scynexis Inc. (Jersey City)
- TrialScope (Jersey City)
- Truefort Inc. (Weehawken)*
Mercer
- Ailares Inc. (Princeton)*
- CircleBalck Inc. (Princeton)
- Forefront Telecare Inc. (Hamilton Township)*
- Miami International Holdings Inc. (Princeton)
- Oncosec Medical (Pennington)
- Orthobond Corp. (Princeton)
- Princeton Identity (Hamilton Twp.)*
- Soligenix Inc. (Princeton)
- Tallyx Inc. (Princeton)
Middlesex
- AIM ImmunoTech (New Brunswick)
- Cytosorbents Medical Inc. (Monmouth Junction)
- EOS Energy Storage (Edison)
- IoTecha Corp. (Piscataway)
- Nanotech Industrial Solutions (Avenel)
- Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (Monroe Township)
- Solidia Technologies (Piscataway)
- SPES Pharmaceuticals Inc. (North Brunswick)*
- Tulex Pharmaceutical Inc. (Cranbury)*
- United Silicon Carbide Inc. (Monmouth Junction)
Monmouth
- Angel Medical Systems (Eatontown)
- Avlino Inc. (Holmdel)
- Brilliant Light Power Inc. (Eatontown)
- Fusion Recruiting Labs Inc. (Red Bank)*
- Hope Portal Services Inc. DBA Hope Trust (Holmdel)
- Provention Bio Inc. (Red Bank)
- Throtle Inc. (Red Bank)*
Morris
- Interpace Biosciences Inc. (Parsippany)*
- MYOS RENS Technology Inc. (Cedar Knolls)
- Onkos Surgical Inc. (Parsippany)*
- PDS Biotechnology Corp. (Florham Park)
Somerset
- Bellerophon Therapeutics (Warren)
- Bloqcube Inc. (Bridgewater)*
- Caladrius Biosciences Inc (Basking Ridge)
- Celularity Inc. (Warren)
- Clinical Genomics (Bridgewater)*
- electroCore Inc. (Basking Ridge)
- Matinas Biopharma (Bedminster)
- Sunbird Software Inc. (Somerset)*
Union
- CorMedix Inc. (Berkeley Heights)
- Svelte Medical Systems (New Providence)
