Jones Lang LaSalle
Top Five Regions Targeting Biotech Companies
Learn which regions are offering the sweetest deals
to attract your biotech business
Everybody knows where to find the big biotech clusters in the U.S.: Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle make just about everyone's short list. Each of those cities offers a compelling set of reasons why an emerging drug developer would want to call it home. In quite a few cases, of course, a city grew a big biotech cluster because existing companies helped spin off new players that weren't really interested in moving.
But dozens of states--and some international zones outside our borders--are actively shoveling money and resources right at biotechnology. They're creating new, high-paying jobs for a well-educated work force. That's the future. So FierceBiotech set out to learn a little more about which areas of the country are working overtime to woo biotech companies their way. Which states have governors and legislatures willing to fork out cash incentives to create the biotech clusters of the future? Big vision issues aside, which areas also are going the extra mile to help managers just grow their companies?
We'll be the first to admit it's a subjective approach. There's no specific algorithm at work, but a certain kind of chemistry is required. And every year from now on we'll look at the fiercest economic development regions in the world. Of course, we'll be looking for regular feedback from all of you as well on which new areas to include.
-John Carroll
The Top Five Regions
California
Maryland and the I-270 Tech Corridor
New Jersey
Singapore Biopolis
Wisconsin
California
A little more than a year ago, when California voters overwhelmingly endorsed an initiative to provide $3 billion in support of stem cell work, they immediately put the state on the road to becoming a future leader in the field. Even some Massachusetts companies started scouting the state for lab space. And California's public support for stem cell research made it an issue around the country. Other states like Wisconsin and New Jersey scrambled to put together smaller stem-cell programs of their own. But even though conservative groups have managed to block California's money so far in the courts (a trial is scheduled to start in late February) the state has retained the lead in this enormously promising field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite efforts to keep public funds out of stem cell research, California remains at the forefront of this enormously promising field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine isn't waiting for a verdict to get started. It's gathering more than $50 million from philanthropic groups and supportive individuals to fully set up this year so it can unloose a "torrent" of funding once the litigation is over. Eventually the institute will dole out some $300 million in support. Betting that the state will become a center for stem cell work once the institute turns on the monetary taps, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles have set aside millions of dollars for new lab space and recruited top scientists from around the world. With South Korea's humiliating concession that one of its top scientists faked work on cloning embryonic stem cells, this is one race that is still in its first lap. Of course, California is building on one of the biggest life sciences bases in the world. Amgen and Genentech are just two of the biotech stars based in the state, and Stanford recently announced plans to develop a new biotech center of its own.
Astronomical housing prices aside, fame, money and success all help spread that glittery look to the state's biotech prospects.
Maryland and the I-270 Tech Corridor
When MedImmune went looking for a site for its second manufacturing plant, it stayed home. Or close to home. The biotech decided to build an office/lab/manufacturing complex in Frederick, MD, right next to its existing plant. That I-270 tech corridor has become a hot property in the biotech world, drawing in a big vaccine plants from BioPort and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals as well.
University of Maryland Baltimore's new $200 million BioPark has inked its first big tenant, while East Baltimore Biotechnology Park, located next to Johns Hopkins University's medical campus, hopes to tap in on the industry's expansion as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biotech firms benefit from from Maryland's world-class medical research institutions. University of Maryland Balitmore's new $200 million BioPark has already inked its first big tenant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course, biotechnology development doesn't happen in a vacuum, as Maryland officials know. So in addition to grants, tax credits, early stage backing from the state's venture fund and help from TEDCO, the region's economic development department also helps to set up relationships with big federal agencies like NIH and the FDA. A statewide consortium of universities provides further help on the training side.
The state legislature has yet to get on the stem cell bandwagon, but recent polls showing solid support for fostering that work in Maryland may help push lawmakers in that direction.
New Jersey
Few states are as gung-ho about biotechnology as New Jersey. It's got a feisty group of drug developers. It's attracting new companies with a tax credit transfer program (a standard description for an early-stage venture), which allows money-losing biotechs to sell their losses to profitable companies for cash. The state boasts tax credits, grants and loans; subsidizes office space; and offers research funding to boot. Also, in 2004 the state set up its own $10 million life sciences venture fund that offers seed capital to start-ups.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey has actually handed out $5 million in cold hard cash to help support stem cell research.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The state has cut the number of new jobs biotech companies must create to qualify for a state incentive program to 10 from 25 and extended tax credits for larger drug companies. It's added $50,000 bridge grants to help a biotech company move from Phase I to Phase II. Also, the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey has helped establish an umbrella group--The New Jersey Biotechnology Life Sciences Coalition--to help market the state to the industry.
By law, biotech companies can sell their unused net operating loss and R&D tax credit carry forwards to any state corporation for at least 75 percent of the benefit. That program was recently expanded from $40 million to $60 million. It has also recently expanded its Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies, a science incubator inside The Technology Center of New Jersey, a 50-acre research center opened in 1995.
The Legislature has helped by providing support for stem cell work. New Jersey has actually handed out $5 million in cold hard cash to help support stem cell research; not much, but the first real state money to flow in that direction. Now that Jon Corzine has been sworn in as governor, the industry expects him to pick up the stem cell banner he waved during the campaign and push for hundreds of millions more through the Edison Innovation Fund.
Singapore Biopolis
Any biopharma company looking for a lot of help for drug development would do well to look closely at Singapore. Grants are available for R&D projects and technology training. Lower corporate taxes and even full tax exemption are available to the biopharma industry because it's considered a strategically important industry in the city-state. There's also an investment allowance to help pay for new technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tenants have all but filled Singapore's Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bio*One Capital operates four life sciences funds with a $1.2 billion portfolio. Bio*One also operates a separate group that offers seed funding and early-stage development funds that will dispatch scientists and entrepreneurs to help new managers grow their businesses. The Singapore Economic Development Board can match third-party investments in early-stage operations dollar for dollar, up to $300,000. Investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million in equity and convertible loans don't hurt.
These are all good reasons why Singapore's Biopolis has been booming. Tenants have all but filled its Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space, and builders have broken ground on Phase II--400,000 sq. ft. of space for biopharma activities. That activity has drawn a lot of the big pharma companies--GSK, for example, recently started building a $115 million pilot plant for experimental drugs--but the tiny country may also prove a haven for smaller companies as well.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is not a state that makes a lot of relocation short lists in the biotech field, but the governor has given every indication that he intends to change that. Just weeks ago Governor Jim Doyle outlined ambitious plans for the life sciences sector totaling $750 million.
The bulk of that money is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for new facilities and research in drug development and stem cells therapies. A whopping $375 million is earmarked for the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, a public-private research institute that will occupy a full city block (it will support private biotech researchers as well). The Biostar Initiative--a building program started several years ago--has already pushed development of new facilities on the UW campus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just weeks ago Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle outlined ambitious plans for the life sciences sector totaling $750 million.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are also new funds earmarked for life science companies. Most of Wisconsin's biotech companies have spun off from the University of Wisconsin in Madison or Milwaukee (there's a lot of competition between the two), and the state is clearly interested in leading with its strongest player in the field.
But the state offers more than just improved access to its university facilities. Wisconsin recently approved new tax credits for tech companies with an eye to fostering development of its biotech industry. There's grant money for targeting federal research funds and early-stage investments. Cash-strapped biotechs struggling to stay afloat between Phase I and Phase II can qualify for bridge grants, and low-interest loans will be available to help start-ups. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, armed with billions in pension cash, has also committed to investing another $50 million with venture funds on top of the $135 million it's already channeled in that direction.
Within an hour of hearing about FierceBiotech's interest, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Mary Burke was on the line to underscore the state's commitment. She was quick to mention the NIH's National Stem Cell Bank--awarded to the WiCell Research Institute in Wisconsin last October--and UW-Madison's international rep in research. Some venture fund groups have even been suggesting their young biotech companies in California should move to Wisconsin, asserts Secretary Burke.
Even the weather this winter, which has been balmy by the state's frigid standards, has been helping her make her case. "People were out golfing last weekend," she says.
Top Five Regions Targeting Biotech Companies
Learn which regions are offering the sweetest deals
to attract your biotech business
Everybody knows where to find the big biotech clusters in the U.S.: Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle make just about everyone's short list. Each of those cities offers a compelling set of reasons why an emerging drug developer would want to call it home. In quite a few cases, of course, a city grew a big biotech cluster because existing companies helped spin off new players that weren't really interested in moving.
But dozens of states--and some international zones outside our borders--are actively shoveling money and resources right at biotechnology. They're creating new, high-paying jobs for a well-educated work force. That's the future. So FierceBiotech set out to learn a little more about which areas of the country are working overtime to woo biotech companies their way. Which states have governors and legislatures willing to fork out cash incentives to create the biotech clusters of the future? Big vision issues aside, which areas also are going the extra mile to help managers just grow their companies?
We'll be the first to admit it's a subjective approach. There's no specific algorithm at work, but a certain kind of chemistry is required. And every year from now on we'll look at the fiercest economic development regions in the world. Of course, we'll be looking for regular feedback from all of you as well on which new areas to include.
-John Carroll
The Top Five Regions
California
Maryland and the I-270 Tech Corridor
New Jersey
Singapore Biopolis
Wisconsin
California
A little more than a year ago, when California voters overwhelmingly endorsed an initiative to provide $3 billion in support of stem cell work, they immediately put the state on the road to becoming a future leader in the field. Even some Massachusetts companies started scouting the state for lab space. And California's public support for stem cell research made it an issue around the country. Other states like Wisconsin and New Jersey scrambled to put together smaller stem-cell programs of their own. But even though conservative groups have managed to block California's money so far in the courts (a trial is scheduled to start in late February) the state has retained the lead in this enormously promising field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite efforts to keep public funds out of stem cell research, California remains at the forefront of this enormously promising field.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine isn't waiting for a verdict to get started. It's gathering more than $50 million from philanthropic groups and supportive individuals to fully set up this year so it can unloose a "torrent" of funding once the litigation is over. Eventually the institute will dole out some $300 million in support. Betting that the state will become a center for stem cell work once the institute turns on the monetary taps, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles have set aside millions of dollars for new lab space and recruited top scientists from around the world. With South Korea's humiliating concession that one of its top scientists faked work on cloning embryonic stem cells, this is one race that is still in its first lap. Of course, California is building on one of the biggest life sciences bases in the world. Amgen and Genentech are just two of the biotech stars based in the state, and Stanford recently announced plans to develop a new biotech center of its own.
Astronomical housing prices aside, fame, money and success all help spread that glittery look to the state's biotech prospects.
Maryland and the I-270 Tech Corridor
When MedImmune went looking for a site for its second manufacturing plant, it stayed home. Or close to home. The biotech decided to build an office/lab/manufacturing complex in Frederick, MD, right next to its existing plant. That I-270 tech corridor has become a hot property in the biotech world, drawing in a big vaccine plants from BioPort and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals as well.
University of Maryland Baltimore's new $200 million BioPark has inked its first big tenant, while East Baltimore Biotechnology Park, located next to Johns Hopkins University's medical campus, hopes to tap in on the industry's expansion as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biotech firms benefit from from Maryland's world-class medical research institutions. University of Maryland Balitmore's new $200 million BioPark has already inked its first big tenant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course, biotechnology development doesn't happen in a vacuum, as Maryland officials know. So in addition to grants, tax credits, early stage backing from the state's venture fund and help from TEDCO, the region's economic development department also helps to set up relationships with big federal agencies like NIH and the FDA. A statewide consortium of universities provides further help on the training side.
The state legislature has yet to get on the stem cell bandwagon, but recent polls showing solid support for fostering that work in Maryland may help push lawmakers in that direction.
New Jersey
Few states are as gung-ho about biotechnology as New Jersey. It's got a feisty group of drug developers. It's attracting new companies with a tax credit transfer program (a standard description for an early-stage venture), which allows money-losing biotechs to sell their losses to profitable companies for cash. The state boasts tax credits, grants and loans; subsidizes office space; and offers research funding to boot. Also, in 2004 the state set up its own $10 million life sciences venture fund that offers seed capital to start-ups.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey has actually handed out $5 million in cold hard cash to help support stem cell research.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The state has cut the number of new jobs biotech companies must create to qualify for a state incentive program to 10 from 25 and extended tax credits for larger drug companies. It's added $50,000 bridge grants to help a biotech company move from Phase I to Phase II. Also, the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey has helped establish an umbrella group--The New Jersey Biotechnology Life Sciences Coalition--to help market the state to the industry.
By law, biotech companies can sell their unused net operating loss and R&D tax credit carry forwards to any state corporation for at least 75 percent of the benefit. That program was recently expanded from $40 million to $60 million. It has also recently expanded its Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies, a science incubator inside The Technology Center of New Jersey, a 50-acre research center opened in 1995.
The Legislature has helped by providing support for stem cell work. New Jersey has actually handed out $5 million in cold hard cash to help support stem cell research; not much, but the first real state money to flow in that direction. Now that Jon Corzine has been sworn in as governor, the industry expects him to pick up the stem cell banner he waved during the campaign and push for hundreds of millions more through the Edison Innovation Fund.
Singapore Biopolis
Any biopharma company looking for a lot of help for drug development would do well to look closely at Singapore. Grants are available for R&D projects and technology training. Lower corporate taxes and even full tax exemption are available to the biopharma industry because it's considered a strategically important industry in the city-state. There's also an investment allowance to help pay for new technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tenants have all but filled Singapore's Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bio*One Capital operates four life sciences funds with a $1.2 billion portfolio. Bio*One also operates a separate group that offers seed funding and early-stage development funds that will dispatch scientists and entrepreneurs to help new managers grow their businesses. The Singapore Economic Development Board can match third-party investments in early-stage operations dollar for dollar, up to $300,000. Investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million in equity and convertible loans don't hurt.
These are all good reasons why Singapore's Biopolis has been booming. Tenants have all but filled its Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space, and builders have broken ground on Phase II--400,000 sq. ft. of space for biopharma activities. That activity has drawn a lot of the big pharma companies--GSK, for example, recently started building a $115 million pilot plant for experimental drugs--but the tiny country may also prove a haven for smaller companies as well.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is not a state that makes a lot of relocation short lists in the biotech field, but the governor has given every indication that he intends to change that. Just weeks ago Governor Jim Doyle outlined ambitious plans for the life sciences sector totaling $750 million.
The bulk of that money is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for new facilities and research in drug development and stem cells therapies. A whopping $375 million is earmarked for the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, a public-private research institute that will occupy a full city block (it will support private biotech researchers as well). The Biostar Initiative--a building program started several years ago--has already pushed development of new facilities on the UW campus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just weeks ago Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle outlined ambitious plans for the life sciences sector totaling $750 million.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are also new funds earmarked for life science companies. Most of Wisconsin's biotech companies have spun off from the University of Wisconsin in Madison or Milwaukee (there's a lot of competition between the two), and the state is clearly interested in leading with its strongest player in the field.
But the state offers more than just improved access to its university facilities. Wisconsin recently approved new tax credits for tech companies with an eye to fostering development of its biotech industry. There's grant money for targeting federal research funds and early-stage investments. Cash-strapped biotechs struggling to stay afloat between Phase I and Phase II can qualify for bridge grants, and low-interest loans will be available to help start-ups. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, armed with billions in pension cash, has also committed to investing another $50 million with venture funds on top of the $135 million it's already channeled in that direction.
Within an hour of hearing about FierceBiotech's interest, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Mary Burke was on the line to underscore the state's commitment. She was quick to mention the NIH's National Stem Cell Bank--awarded to the WiCell Research Institute in Wisconsin last October--and UW-Madison's international rep in research. Some venture fund groups have even been suggesting their young biotech companies in California should move to Wisconsin, asserts Secretary Burke.
Even the weather this winter, which has been balmy by the state's frigid standards, has been helping her make her case. "People were out golfing last weekend," she says.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 11:32 AM
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