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The expansions by three biotech firms will create 135 new direct jobs at the University of New Orleans and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center.
Expansions
by three New Orleans biotech firms – AxoSim, Cadex Genomics and Obatala
Sciences – will create 135 new direct jobs at the University of New
Orleans (UNO) and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, a biotech
incubator where all three companies launched local startup operations.
AxoSim’s innovative neuroscience drug
discovery platforms are based upon technology licensed from Tulane
University. The company will expand its existing facilities at the
BioInnovation Center, and AxoSim projects adding 75 jobs at an average
annual salary of $60,000, plus benefits.
At the Advanced Materials Research Institute on the UNO campus, Cadex Genomics
has opened a molecular diagnostic laboratory focused on improving
cancer treatment. The company will create 50 new direct jobs with an
average annual salary of $70,000, plus benefits.
Obatala Sciences
will expand at the same UNO institute and create 10 new jobs with an
average annual salary of $80,000, plus benefits. Obatala produces
biotech tools for improving the speed and effectiveness of
pharmaceutical development.
“Louisiana continues to
elevate its profile and accomplishments in the bioscience sector,” said
Gov. John Bel Edwards. “We recently announced the attraction of a
globally renowned bariatric surgery and research program to Pennington
Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. Here in New Orleans, AxoSim,
Cadex Genomics and Obatala Sciences are expanding the boundary of what’s
possible in bioscience, so that patients and their physicians can gain
faster access to better treatment in the future. We’re grateful that
these innovative companies see the benefits of expanding in Louisiana.”
Collectively,
the companies will create 135 new direct jobs over the next five years
with a combined $9.1 million in annual payroll. Louisiana Economic Development
(LED) estimates the biotech expansions will result in another 143 new
indirect jobs, for a total of 278 new jobs in New Orleans and Southeast
Louisiana.
“We are continuing to create high-quality
jobs and making it possible for emerging high-technology businesses to
prosper in New Orleans,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
“These
companies will help incentivize local graduates to stay in our city,
while also creating advanced job training opportunities for those
currently enrolled in programs involving medical technology and clinical
laboratory sciences. We are empowering our local workforce and meeting
people where they are.”
“We are thrilled to welcome the
growth of these companies in New Orleans,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr.,
president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance.
“Creating expanded opportunities for high-quality jobs in biotechnology
is a key objective of the New Orleans Business Alliance, Louisiana
Economic Development and the City of New Orleans. Beyond the jobs and
investment, these companies are changing lives, which is why economic
development matters.”
AxoSim’s Nerve-On-A-Chip® and
Mini-Brain technologies use bioengineered, living human cells in a 3D
environment to expedite the testing of new neuroscience drugs. The
models reduce reliance on animal testing and produce far more relevant
human data, with the aim of allowing important new drugs to reach
patients sooner and at a lower cost.
“Our innovative
technology upends R&D convention by allowing neuroscientists to test
new drugs in human systems early in development,” said AxoSim CEO Lowry
Curley. “Locating AxoSim in New Orleans also is an unconventional and
winning strategy. Our core technology is licensed from Tulane, the
region is a rich source of scientific talent, the New Orleans
BioInnovation Center provides first-rate facilities, and the New Orleans
Business Alliance helps fuel our drive to conquer devastating
neurological diseases.”
Cadex Genomics seeks to improve
cancer-patient outcomes by providing physicians with real-time
diagnostic tools to guide late-stage cancer treatment. The company is
based in Redwood City, CA and has collaborated with researchers at the
New Orleans BioInnovation Center.
“Opening our research
lab in New Orleans follows our acquisition of intellectual property
earlier this year that was based in part on research at, and in
collaboration with, leading academic medical centers in Louisiana,” said
Cadex Genomics CEO Bill Haack.
“We were also impressed by the
infrastructure, training and research incentives offered by the New
Orleans Business Alliance and Louisiana Economic Development, along with
the ability to source the talent needed to meet our technical hiring
requirements.”
In moving from the New Orleans
BioInnovation Center to UNO’s Advanced Materials Research Institute,
Obatala Sciences will further develop its biotech toolkit designed to
promote new therapies in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Obatala’s use of advanced stem-cell technology can fill a critically
unmet knowledge gap of the human biological response and expedite the
emergence of new treatments and prevention therapies for obesity,
diabetes and regenerative medicine.
“Obatala Sciences
is excited to contribute to our budding biotech ecosystem here in New
Orleans, and we are dedicated to this cause,” said CEO Trivia Frazier.
“We recognize the value of investing in our community and partnering
with the local educational institutions to retain the talent necessary
to advance our mission. In this manner, New Orleans can establish a
blueprint for other cities with a growing population that possesses
highly technical expertise within in a traditionally underserved
region.”
In conjunction with the biotech growth, LED
will enter a $3 million Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Tulane
University, LSU and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center to provide
greater collaboration, bridge funding and a strategic path for the
long-term sustainability of the BioInnovation Center. LED will provide
$1.5 million in three annual installments of $500,000 through the 2022
state fiscal year, while LSU and Tulane each will provide $750,000 in
three annual installments of $250,000. The BioInnovation Center will act
as a hub for biotech activity in Louisiana and foster the further
development of applied bioscience research transferred from LSU and
Tulane. The BioInnovation Center will assist LED in efforts to attract,
retain and expand biotech companies like AxoSim, Cadex Genomics and
Obatala Sciences in Louisiana.
“We are proud of these
local companies and their expansion in the Greater New Orleans region.
As we focus on diversifying our economy, these three companies embody
the opportunity the biosciences and technology sectors bring to our
market,” said Michael Hecht, president & CEO of GNO, Inc.
“Ultimately, this is about creating good-paying jobs for our people, and
we look forward to supporting the growth of these companies.”
from BusinessFacilities.com