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Biotechnology: Investing for the Long Term

May 18, 2010 | by Jerrold Gershone

When we first opened our doors in 1984, the medical device industry was just beginning to take off. As an agency that has always specialized in medical device and healthcare, we’ve had the privilege of being part of this industry’s spectacular growth in Minnesota.

In contrast, the biotechnology industry is still in its infancy. But even at this early stage, it’s already influencing the future of healthcare. Nowhere was this more obvious than at the recent 2010 BIO International Convention in Chicago, which drew some 15,000 attendees, including industry leaders from 65 countries and 49 states. The convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a global trade group dedicated to growing the biotech industry in order to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change, healthcare, food security and production.

The conference was packed with exhibits, keynotes, seminars, political leaders, scientists and CEOs. Topics ranged from market trends to research initiatives, including a compelling presentation on gene therapy used to successfully restore a young boy’s eyesight. (View the video at http://convention.bio.org/default.aspx.) As exciting as these breakthroughs are, however, the full promise of biotechnology is still years away.

What enabled Minnesota to become the center for the medical device industry was - and is - a culture of entrepreneurism and venture capital investment - roughly $1.2 billion in just the past five years. But in the area of biotechnology, we’ve been lagging behind. Between 2004 and 2009, for example, Minnesota-based biotech firms attracted only $1 million in venture capital, compared to $98.5 million invested in Wisconsin.

Now for the good news. Thanks to the recent infusion of support, along with Minnesota’s new “Angel Tax Credit,” there are reasons to feel optimistic about our future in the biosciences. For example: Biomedical Discovery District, a bioresearch medical park at the University of Minnesota, due for completion in 2014; Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a state-sponsored joint research collaboration between the Mayo Clinic and the U of M; Elk Run Biotechnology Center near Rochester, Minnesota, currently in the planning stages; and several start-ups already generating national buzz.

To quote Frank Cerra, dean of the U of M’s Medical School, “If we don’t make the investment in this state, we’ll lose it to another state and become flyover country.”

Not if we have anything to say about it!