Spring 2007
Editorial
Painful, but not Fatal
Eli Lilly Decision to Stop Construction in Virginia a Disappointment
Since we’re featuring the South’s Great Corporate Love Affairs in this issue, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on what’s likely to be the most disappointing “broken engagement” of 2007—Eli Lilly’s decision to stop construction on its $325 million insulin manufacturing facility in Prince William County, Va.
Imagine being the person to get the phone call with that news. Imagine the disappointment for Prince William County and the State of Virginia—especially after they successfully competed against 300 other potential sites for the project just five years earlier.
Citing strategic changes to its global manufacturing operations, Eli Lilly and Co. said that it would stop construction of an insulin manufacturing plant in Virginia because it could meet capacity at other existing sites. At the same time, the drugmaker said it would make “significant” new investments at a site in Kinsale, Ireland where the company does manufacturing for biotechnology products. Ouch!
In the company’s formal announcement on January 11, 2007, Scott Canute, Lilly’s president of manufacturing operations said, “The decision to cease construction of the Prince William County site is very difficult because of the impact on employees. In addition, we have received tremendous cooperation and support from community and state officials.” Construction on the site stopped immediately and the company returned all economic development incentives it received from state and local entities. Crews at the site even shifted from construction to demolition so that the site could be sold as green space.
No one can deny it—it hurts. A potential investment that never comes to fruition is always hard, but that’s especially true when you’re talking about one of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies.
Fortunately, southerners as a breed aren’t easily discouraged and the South won’t lose heart in its pursuit to become the next great biotechnology region. States and communities all across the South have tremendous advantages for life sciences both on the R&D and the manufacturing sides. (You can read all about these advantages on www.BioIndustrySouth.com).
INNOVATION@Prince William County for example, the 1500-acre business and technology park where the insulin plant was being constructed, has a record of wins that predates Eli Lilly and has kept going strong. Anchored by George Mason University’s life science campus, INNOVATION has attracted nearly 2,700 new jobs and a total investment of over $830 million in the last decade or so.
While the Lilly jobs (and for sure the Eli Lilly name) will be missed, the setback isn’t fatal for Prince William County, the State of Virginia, or the South’s bio industry.
trisha@sb-d.com
Alabama
BioDtech Relocating Corporate HQ to Birmingham
A biotech company has chosen Birmingham for its new corporate headquarters. Nashville-based BioDtech Inc. will set up shop near the University of Alabama at Birmingham using the new lab space at the business incubator Innovation Depot. The company could have 50 or more employees in Birmingham within two years.
Oncology Supply Company Opens in Dothan
Oncology Supply Company, Inc., a division of AmerisourceBergen Corporation’s Specialty Group and one of the nation’s largest oncology distributors, celebrated the grand opening of its newly expanded Dothan oncology distribution center. The company has invested $12 million in the expansion and will create an additional 40 jobs in Dothan.
Alabama’s State Docks to Use Biodiesel Blend
In Alabama, the state docks are increasing their use of biodiesel fuels, the port authority has announced. According to the ports authority, all of its equipment will now operate on a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel with all of the biodiesel made from soybeans.
Huntsville’s Expression Genetics Inc. Completes Phase I Studies on Lead Cancer Drug
Expression Genetics Inc. has completed Phase I clinical studies on EGEN-001—its lead cancer drug. The study was completed by researchers at Texas’ Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Florida
Netherlands-based Company to Build Research Facility in East Manatee
Enza Zaden, a Dutch vegetable breeding and seed company, plans to build a new multimillion-dollar research facility in East Manatee, Fla. where it will employ as many as 30 research scientists. A temporary facility will go up on the site in late 2007 and construction of a climate-controlled laboratory will begin in about two years.
Georgia
Theragenics Net Income Jumps 51 Percent
The net income of Theragenics, based in Buford, Ga., jumped 51 percent in the first quarter 2007 as both of the company’s main business lines made a profit. The company’s product offerings include surgical products and devices for cancer treatment.
Kentucky
Biofuels Company Selects Louisville
For the People LLC has selected Louisville’s Riverport Development Complex as its new home, making it Kentucky’s largest fuel alcohol production facility and sustainable energies complex. The company plans to construct a new dry mill ethanol production facility to produce liquid ethanol biofuel from corn. The project will create 60 new jobs in Metro Louisville.
PharmMerica’s New Louisville Headquarters to Create 200 Jobs
PharMerica Corporation, a new publicly traded pharmaceutical company, will locate its corporate headquarters in Louisville, creating 200 new jobs. The company, formed by the combination of AmerisourceBergen Corporation’s and Kindred Healthcare, Inc.’s institutional pharmacy businesses, will constitute the second largest national provider of institutional pharmacy services.
Maryland
Maryland’s MedImmune to be Purchased by AstraZeneca for $15 billion
AstraZeneca has agreed to buy Gaithersburg-based MedImmune. For AstraZeneca, the move is designed to boost the company’s depleted drug portfolio by moving deeper into biotech medicine and taking a first step into vaccines. AstraZeneca has said that the deal is expected to close in June 2007. Analysts have said that the MedImmune purchase shows that pharmaceutical companies are looking toward biotechs as they seek new ways to grow.
Roche to Buy Maryland’s BioVeris
Gaithersburg-based BioVeris is being purchased by one of the world’s biggest diagnostics firms Roche for $600 million. The deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, is expected to make Roche stronger in immunochemistry and enable it to move into new markets.
Maryland Stem Cell Commission Awards 24 Grants
Maryland Stem Cell Commission in its first year of funding has awarded 24 grants to researchers at the state’s universities and life sciences companies. A division of the Maryland Technology Development Corp., the commission was set up to oversee the state’s stem cell research efforts. In 2007, a $15 million stem cell research fund was established for grants. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland, Baltimore dominated the awards. In 2008, the state has earmarked $23 million for stem cell research funding.
North Carolina
North Carolina Companies Pursue Investment
More than 10 biotech companies, most of the based in the Research Triangle, have started to look for their first round of investment, making them what’s considered early-stage companies. Cognosci, an RTP-based biotech company hopes to raise $15 million, which would help create as many as seven jobs by 2008. Meanwhile, Jenken Biosciences, a drug development company in RTP, Onoscope, a medical device company in Durham, and medical software companies TheraSim in Durham and ZyCare in Chapel Hill are working to raise a total of $16.5 million to add more than 50 jobs over the next two to four years.
Red Hat Partners in N.C. Research Campus
Red Hat, a Raleigh-based software company, has signed up as a partner at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. The company will have an office at the campus’ Core Lab and will use its software system to improve collaboration among the various researchers at the campus.
Texas
Texas A&M Scientists Identify Modified Sorghum Crop
As the nation pushes for alternative energy sources, Texas A&M University scientists have produced a genetically engineered crop of sorghum they believe will be a more efficient and economical option to corn in drier parts of the country. The researchers have been working over the past several years to extend sorghum’s growing season, allowing it to double its height, thicken its stalk and become even more tolerant of drought.
West Virginia
Emerald Biofuels to Make Biodiesel at Institute, W.V.
Emerald Biofuels LLC has announced a $15 million project to produce biodiesel fuel at the Bayer CropScience site in Institute, W.Va. Golf, Ill.-based Emerald Biofuels has developed proprietary process for making biodiesel fuel from soybean oil and other seed crops. Construction of the production facility is expected to start in June 2007, with product shipment by the end of the year. Terms of its agreement with Bayer call for Emerald to produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel fuel annually. At least a dozen employees from Bayer CropScience will support the biodiesel operation.
Around the South
States Compete for National Research Facility
Several southern states are among the dozen competing for a proposed 520,000-square-foot National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility that will cost at least $450 million to build. The U.S. Homeland Security Department facility promises at least 300 lab-related jobs. Although states’ written bids have not been made public, southern states reportedly bidding for the site include: Texas, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky.
St. Jude’s and Emory Selected by HHS for Bird Flu Research Grants
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently selected six universities and medical centers to help lead influenza research efforts. The agency will spend $23 million per year for the next seven years to establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Two locations in the South were among the six selected for the centers including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and Atlanta’s Emory University.
For more news about the South’s growing life sciences industry, visit www.BioIndustrySouth.com.
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