Top 10 BioIndustry Initiatives

By Trisha Ostrowski

BioIndustry South-it certainly has a nice ring to it. In case you haven't heard, the South has set its sights on becoming the nation's premier biotech location.

This region, with its aggressively pro-business climate and initiatives, has gone after other industries in the past and has been hugely successful. Take automotive or financial services for instance-who would have thought the South could top Detroit or Wall Street? And why should biotech be any different? The South may very well be on its way to dominance once again.

Helping drive the South's BioIndustry momentum are the states that have enacted pro-bio legislation over the last couple of years. Southern states are seeing the value in the life-enhancing products that this industry creates. And, they're eager to attract the high-tech, high paying jobs that biotech brings.

In record number, states in the South are passing initiatives that will bolster their research institutions, provide capital, build the workforce, develop cutting-edge facilities, and offer supportive regulatory and tax policies. And it's all about building BioIndustry South.

1. South Carolina Passes Life Sciences Act and Venture Capital Investment Act

One of the key business agenda items in South Carolina for 2004, the Life Sciences Act and Venture Capital Investment Act reimburses funds to biotech companies that relocate or expand in South Carolina. The initiative provides incentives for life science companies that invest $100 million or more and create at least 200 jobs and paying 1.5 times the state per capita income. In addition, it provides rebates for approved eligible expenditures and allows for negotiation of corporate income tax liability as well as creation of possible tax savings from equipment depreciation at an accelerated rate. The Act also granted up to $220 million to South Carolina's research universities. And, it enables the state to create a public fund that invests in private venture capital funds through state tax credits.

2. Missouri Decides to Put 25 Percent of its Tobacco Settlement Funds into the Life Sciences through the Life Sciences Trust Fund

In summer 2003, Missouri's governor signed a bill that earmarks 25 percent of the state's future tobacco settlement proceeds for life sciences research grants. It's estimated that $37 million would be available for the fund beginning in 2007. The legislation also sets up a seven-member life sciences research board in the state that will administer the trust fund money as well as a statewide Center for Excellence in Life Science Research located in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield. Goals of this legislation are to enhance research capacity in the life sciences, to promote Missouri as a center of life science R&D by building on the success of existing Missouri research institutions, and to transform research into commercial technology.

3. Florida Elects to Invest $1 Billion in Pension Funds for Venture Capital

Florida came up with another way to put the state's financial clout behind biotech. In mid-2004, the state announced that it would invest up to $1 billion of its $102 billion employee pension fund in the next three years into venture capital. The ambitious investment was announced at an event organized by Enterprise Florida to bring together more than 80 venture capitalists with Scripps president Richard Lerner and Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss how venture investors can benefit from opening an office in Florida. Of the total $1 billion, $75 million is specifically set aside for Florida companies.

4. North Carolina Commits $60 Million to Train its Biotech Workforce

In 2003, North Carolina committed $60 million to develop the Biomanufacturing and Training Consortium. This statewide training network will prepare workers for technical employment in bioprocessing. The initiative is set up to train for basically all relevant technical and engineering disciplines at all levels from Associate Degrees to Ph.D. and has a goal of training up to 3,000 workers per year.

Funding for this initiative came from the non-profit Golden Long-Term Economic Advancement Foundation (Golden LEAF), which underwrites economic development activities using half of the state's tobacco settlement funds. In addition, members of the North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBIO), a statewide industry trade association, pledged up to $4.5 million. Of the total $64.5 million pledged, North Carolina State University at Raleigh will receive $36 million to develop the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center, which is scheduled to open in January 2007. Plans call for a 100,000 square-foot plant that will provide hands-on experience in a pilot scale. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central University in Durham will receive $19.1 million for the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) also to open in January 2007. This facility will include a research lab and classroom facility to train workers at all levels in biotech and biomanufacturing. Finally, the North Caroling Community College System will receive $9.4 million for BioNetwork, a network of six centers statewide that will train workers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and the life sciences.

5. West Virginia's Economic Development Grant Program Authorizes

$26.3 Million for Bioscience Projects

West Virginia is realizing that it's critical to build the state's research capacity and generate the kind of activity that will attract technology-intensive firms. Recently, the West Virginia Economic Development Grant program authorized $225 million in bonds for economic development projects, which included $26.3 million for bioscience. The expenditure includes $12.5 million to develop a biotechnology development center at Marshall University; $10 million for a medical research facility at West Virginia University's Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute; $2.3 million for the National Biometrics Security Project; and $1.5 million for the creation of a biotechnology incubator in South Charleston. In 2003, the West Virginia Legislature also passed a bill that authorized the creation of university-affiliated centers for economic development and technology advancement to support industry and academic R&D partnerships and technology commercialization. Additionally, West Virginia has overhauled its tax incentives, now including credits for Innovation Technology Commercialization. Further, a new Venture Capital Act has significantly improved the climate for risk capital by providing $25 million in state money to be leveraged with up to $75 million of federal money.

6. Maryland Earmarks $46 Million for Advanced Research in Biotechnology Facility

It's really no surprise that the 2004 Milken Institute study ranked Maryland second nationwide for biotechnology growth potential. The state has seen more than its share of initiatives and developments in the last few years. Among these are the University of Maryland Baltimore BioPark, a $300 million research park featuring 800,000 square feet of space and the FDA's new consolidated campus project in White Oak, which will feature 3 million square feet and 7,700 employees. But one of Maryland's most impressive bio initiatives came in January 2003 when the state's governor earmarked $46 million for a new facility at the University of Maryland's Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology (CARB). CARB II, the new facility, will be used for bioinformatics, bioprocess production and training, drug design, genome analysis, manufacturing and nanotechnology. The center is being built next to the institute's existing complex in Rockville. It is a joint venture of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI).

7. Kansas Passes Biosciences Bill

In April 2004, Kansas' governor signed a bill intended to spark bioscience development in his state. The $500 million initiative establishes Kansas Bioscience Authority, which funds new programs that support bioscience R&D, enhances the existing commercialization systems in the state, and encourages bioscience companies to locate or expand in Kansas. Also included are plans to build and maintain bioscience research facilities as well as seed funding for biotech startups. This legislation also included the Emerging Industry Investment Act, which funds the programs of the BioAuthority by reinvesting the incremental growth in state taxes generated by the state's bioscience research institutions and companies.

8. Tennessee Invests $53 Million in Health Science Center and Memphis

In spring 2004, Tennessee's governor announced a $53 million investment for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Memphis' biotechnology efforts. More than $40 million of the investment is specifically earmarked to build a new College of Pharmacy on the campus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. The remaining $10 million will go to complete the site preparation for the UT-Baptist Research Park.

9. Georgia Increases Seed Money for Life Science Companies through The Georgia Seed Capital Fund

A bill passed in the Georgia Legislature allows the state to increase its amount of funding available to qualified life science ventures from $500,000 to $1 million per venture. The bill modifies a statute originally passed in 1989. The transactions must be authorized by the state-funded Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech. For a loan to be approved, every state dollar loaned must be matched with $3 from the private sector. Also in Georgia, a pilot project announced in 2003 is providing funding to biotech companies for the development of their research laboratories.

10. Texas Spends $55 Million to Attract Technology and Biotech and to Support Research

In 2003, Texas' governor called for the creation of a Texas Enterprise Fund to help bring jobs and paychecks to the state. The initiative was financed with a one-time appropriation of $390 million from the state's Economic Stabilization-a.k.a. "Rainy Day"-Fund. As part of the plan, $55 million is being used to attract technology and biotechnology businesses and support university research. This component includes the establishment of a Nobel Laureate Center, endowed chairs, and participation in other projects such as technology parks.

Top Community Bio Initiatives in the South

The innovative Bio initiatives happening all across the South are by no means limited to states. Local communities are also getting into the game-doing their best to become the next biotech hotspot. Here are a couple of community initiatives in the South that rank at the top.

Richmond, Va. and its Virginia Bioscience Park Take an Ambitious Direction

'Richmond: The New East Coast Center for Biosciences'-that has become the mission statement of the Virginia Bioscience Research Park, which boasts a master plan including 1.5 million square feet. In April 2003, the park adopted that goal as the focal point of its new strategic plan. Over the last year or so, the community and its park has been charging full steam ahead toward making this vision a reality. The eight-year old park, which still has two-thirds of its capacity left to develop, opened its eighth building. The $63 million, 194,000 square-foot facility is home to the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratories, which is one of only five labs in the nation that's equipped to handle the world's most dangerous pathogens. The Park has also become home to the state's chief medical examiner, as well as the headquarters of the Virginia Division of Forensic Science, whose labs have recorded more cold DNA hits than anywhere in the world.

Located halfway between San Antonio and Dallas on I-35, Temple, Texas has been busy becoming a hub for medicine, medical research, and technology. Voters in Temple Recently approved the creation of the Temple Health and Bioscience Economic Development District, which will encompass the entire city limits. The new District is eligible to receive Federal, State or private grants as well as monetary gifts from and collaboration with other organizations. In addition, the District will identify and recruit biotech and life science-related businesses to locate in Temple.