Business Facilities - March 2008 - (Page 12)

COVER STORY By Jenny Vickers Every year, more locations promote themselves as hot spots for biotechnology. Do any of them have the potential to become the next San Diego or Boston? Business Facilities has uncovered a few areas showing promise. O ver 40 regions in the U.S. are currently targeting biotechnology to grow their economies, up from 14 just five years ago, according to the national Biotechnology Industry Organization. This is because biotechnology not only impacts our everyday lives, but also holds great economic promise. “Nearly every part of the world is looking to its future dramatically affected by biotechnology,” says G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill and Company, a life sciences merchant bank. “The technology being developed for new diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines will revolutionize everything that we do.” According to “Beyond Borders,” Ernst & Young’s 2007 global biotechnology report, biotechnology is on track to become a $100 billion industry before the end of this decade. Today, the biotechnology industry is comprised of 5,000 companies worldwide, collectively earning $50 billion MARCH 2008 in revenue with hundreds of products on the market. The industry greatly impacts other sectors, including drug development, agriculture, and energy. But you can’t just grow a biotechnology hub overnight; it can take decades to mature. For example, Boston, San Diego, and California’s Silicon Valley took over 20 years to become the biotechnology hotbeds they are today. Experts point to several factors that must be in place for a city to grow a biotechnology industry, including local venture capital, firstclass research facilities, strong universities, and a large and talented scientific pool. “The challenge for every location in the world is to have enough of those critical factors to feed it and have momentum and sustainability,” says Scott Sarazen, the global biotechnology markets leader for Ernst & Young. “It’s mind boggling how many cities would like to become biotechnology clusters,” says Gautam Jaggi, editor of “Beyond Borders.” “Not all of these areas are going to be successful, so there is wisdom in developing a strategy and leveraging what your biotechnology strength is.” The cities we’ve chosen to profile in the remainder of this story meet this test. None have yet to reach the level of a global biotechnology capi- 12 PHOTO CREDITS: LIQUIDLIBRARY.COM; FLICKR.COM; STOCK.XCHNG.COM

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Business Facilities - March 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots California Seeks Immigration Reform To Spur Economic Growth Outside the Biotechnology Clusters Global Biotech Competition Heats Up Location Is Key To Your Bottom Line New Incentives For New Hampshire Metro Spotlight: Jersey City, NJ Europe's Center For Goods, Real and Virtual Access Your Markets From Pennsylvania Corporate Moves: Illinois Louisiana Upgrades Important Port Road Projects To Accelerate Michigan's Economy Corporate Moves: South Carolina Metro Spotlight: Salt Lake City, UT Advertiser Index Inside LiveXchange

Business Facilities - March 2008

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