August 20, 1999 Web posted at: 7:31 a.m. EDT (1131 GMT) by Dan Caterinicchia

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(IDG) -- New Jersey's Technology Transfer and Commercialization Program (TTCP) will provide matching loans to 23 high-tech companies in the state that are poised to supply advanced technology products to the marketplace.

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The program is administered by the state's Commission on Science and Technology, a branch of the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission. "We want to foster the development of technology out of our universities and industrial labs and bring them to the marketplace," said John Tesoriero, executive director of the Commission on Science and Technology.

"We're really interested in the high-tech start-ups; companies literally started in garages, basements, university labs and spin-offs from bigger businesses. They are the ones that need cash desperately and can't go to the venture capitalists or the banks unless they want $5 million, or have a prototype ready or a fully developed process," Tesoriero said.

Under Gov. Christine Whitman's (R) tenure, TTCP funding has grown to nearly $5 million annually. The program requires start-up companies that receive a loan under the program to match it dollar-for-dollar themselves or through a third party and pay it back to the state within 10 years.

Beneficiaries of this year's loan awards from all regions of the state received grants of $80,000 to $250,000 for their work in pharmaceuticals, transportation, biotechnology and other industries.

"We have $5 million a year to give, which isn't that much," Tesoriero said. "But the companies only have to wait a few months from the time they apply until the award is given, and we're really looking for those with potential for business development -- and that can make an economic impact in the state."