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As I am honored to serve this great region, it is my pleasure to publish content about US Southeast Region for my tens of millions of monthly global business readers.
-- Christian Dillstrom
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Digital transformation is driving innovation in the life sciences sector, making transparency a top priority and heralding an era of “relationship-driven partnerships among all of the sector’s stakeholders.
Deloitte
says data is now the currency of life sciences, and mobilizing data
throughout the enterprise, transforming work and using technology
symbiotically will be fundamental to advancing digital transformation.
In
2019, the life sciences sector is seeing a strategic rise of the
digital mindset and further adoption of transformative technologies.
While traditional investment vehicles, like mergers and acquisitions,
can expect a sharper focus, external innovation can become a meaningful
culture change-agent through innovative and creative partnerships with
new entrants and non-traditional players.
The digital
age requires more transparency and disclosure and a need for real
relationship-driven partnerships will extend to all sector
stakeholders—patients, advocacy groups and regulators—and also to
outsourcing vendors critical to the supply chain, Deloitte says.
Data
will be the force behind new revenue models and crucial to understanding
and delivering an exceptional patient experience.
Continued
pricing pressures, increasing access to drugs, growth of gene and cell
therapies and uncertain trade policies will further change the dynamics
of the market.
LIFE SCIENCES ACCELERATING IN PALM BEACH COUNTY
Palm
Beach County, FL is home to the world’s top two life sciences research
institutes, has a new 150,000-square-foot life sciences accelerator on
the horizon and is experiencing unprecedented growth in the Life
Sciences industry.
Already home to over 700 life sciences companies,
change in the national tax law is fueling explosive growth in the
county’s sector. Companies are leveraging the area’s affordability and
enjoyable pace of life to spark collaborative innovation.
With biotech
and pharmaceutical education programs at local universities, world-class
core facilities available for commercial access and a lifestyle that
attracts talent, life science companies are finding Palm Beach County to
be irresistible.
Palm
Beach County is the only place in the world where a Max Planck
Institute and The Scripps Research Institute, the world’s top two
research institutions according to Nature Index, reside together.
On
Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Jupiter campus, Max Planck Florida
Institute is a Zeiss “labs@location” partner institution and home to the
U.S. headquarters for Abberior Instruments. Combined with FAU’s Brain
Institute in Jupiter, which is a Nikon Center of Excellence, the Cluster
offers a large collection of microscopy resources.
Also located on
FAU’s Jupiter campus is Scripps Research Institute, ranked the #1 most
influential research institution in the world by Nature Index. In fact,
its graduate program ranked 10th nationally in the biological sciences,
5th for organic chemistry and 2nd for biochemistry. Palm Beach County
gives companies access to the best technology in the world in a
collegial environment.
Florida Atlantic University
offers educational programs in drug development and biotechnology, a
medical school and a nationally recognized marine science drug discovery
program.
Nearby, Palm Beach State College has a targeted biotechnology
program with students graduating with significant wet lab experience.
Anchored around world-class research and top-ranked educational
programs, life sciences companies are finding abundant talent in the
community.
The movement of hedge funds, private equity and other capital firms from high-tax states to Florida
has been well-documented in the national media.
However, less reported
are the large number of entrepreneurs and growth-stage life sciences
companies moving their companies to Palm Beach County. Many of the top
pharmaceutical and device executives, targeted and diversified life
sciences investment funds, and other stakeholders have an office, home
or other connection to the community.
As a result, the largest life
sciences Series A investments in Florida for 2018-19 were in Palm Beach
County, including Expansion Therapeutics and X-Vax, both exceeding $55M
each.
Successful biotech entrepreneurs are finding the
community to be exceptional. Dr. Matthew Disney, Founder of Expansion
Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company pursuing small
molecule medicines for RNA-mediated diseases, said, “There is no better
place to get this work done than in Jupiter and at the Scripps Research
Institute, which represents the pulse of Florida’s life sciences
industry.”
Alphazyme, a developer, manufacturer and global distributor
of enzymes, chose Jupiter over Boston. “Jupiter is a magical place and
we’re excited to build a great bioscience company here. The support of
the Business Development Board and Town of Jupiter made it an easy
decision to invest resources here,” said Chris Benoit, Co-Founder and
CEO of Alphazyme.
Algafeed, an algal production company revolutionizing
the global aquaculture industry, is also expanding in Jupiter. “Our
Jupiter, Florida founding headquarter has consistently provided the
ideal climate and business environment stimulus for our evolving
technology,” said Scott D. Hollingsworth, CEO of Algafeed.
Attracted
by the world-class research, Beacon Capital announced the opening of
the Beacon Center for Life Science and Research, a new life sciences
accelerator and manufacturing facility coming to Jupiter, seeking to
support 30 to 50 life sciences companies between IND and commercial
stage.
After seeing the Cluster, Beacon chose Jupiter over New York.
“The Beacon-Accelerator will host and invest in cutting-edge companies
seeking to bring promising medical advancements to market making it a
significant addition to Palm Beach County’s Bench to Bedside Life
Sciences Cluster,” said Kelly Smallridge, President and CEO, Business
Development Board.
Palm Beach County isn’t just a
retirement spot anymore, it’s ripe with life sciences innovation. Home
to FAU Tech Runway and Research Park at FAU, two engines for
entrepreneurship, South County is home to dozens of internationally
recognized start-ups.
It’s home to Modernizing Medicine, the leading EMR
system in several medical specialties, F1 Oncology, which is on the
forefront of CAR-T cancer therapies, and Reachlink, a leader in
telemedicine.
There’s been so much activity that the
Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) has set up a
special department to help companies within this sector relocate to or
expand in the county.
In the past year alone, the BDB has assisted over a
dozen life science companies to grow, making direct investments of over
$100M into the local economy.
“The BDB connected us
with a funding source to finance the project and assisted in expedited
permitting through the City of Lake Worth Beach, a feature that saved us
from a nine-month process,” said Dr. Naim, President and CEO of Capzer
Pharmaceuticals, one of the life science expanding companies.
The
innovative Life Sciences Cluster makes Palm Beach County a compelling
draw for life sciences companies around the globe.
Local companies
benefit from tax advantages, 47 miles of beaches, access to one of the
world’s top three domestic airports, the 4th busiest port in Florida,
and a quality of life that’s second to none. Many companies are asking,
“Why not Palm Beach County?”
CHAFFEE CROSSING: MEDICAL RESEARCH HUB
Chaffee
Crossing is a 7,000-acre mixed-use, Smart Growth community in western
Arkansas that has attracted more than $1.651 billion in industrial,
commercial, educational, residential, recreational and historical
development through the savvy guidance of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority
(FCRA).
Arkansas’ premier economic development project, strategically
located in the center of the continental U.S., proudly boasts a complete
list of transportation assets, a solid mixed-use master plan, and a
healthy list of federal, state, regional and local partners.
Over the
past five years, the heartbeat of the development has been the new
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the first school on the campus
of Arkansas College of Health Education, a privately funded medical
college.
With FCRA’s gift of 200 prime acres of real
estate, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) was able to quickly
launch its first medical college, the Arkansas College of Osteopathic
Medicine (ARCOM).
The college opened in August 2017 to an inaugural
class of 150 medical students. In addition to first-class education
space featuring leading edge technology, the $32 million “Taj Mahal of
medical education facilities” includes a $3 million, 7,000 square-foot
research space that is attracting national attention from biomedical
researchers and grantors that include the National Institutes of Health.
A
second college, the multi-discipline Arkansas College of Health
Sciences (ARCOHS), and a bio-med Masters program were announced in June
2017. The 66,000 square-foot ARCOHS building will be home to schools of
occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and physician
assistant (PA) studies.
Building features include a fully functional
walk-in clinic open to the community; “Live and Learn”, pediatric,
neuro, splinting and modality labs; quiet study spaces, practice rooms,
and classrooms with the latest technology. These three disciplines
combined will graduate approximately ninety physicians per year.
The
228-acre ACHE campus is being developed under a comprehensive master
plan which includes a variety of residential, commercial, and retail
districts complemented by recreational amenities.
A highly anticipated
mixed-use area known as The Village at Heritage will host 32
commercial/retail spaces with two vertical floors of hotel-style
apartments available for students and faculty in addition to other
campus housing. ARCOM is projected to have a $400 million annual
economic impact on the regional economy.
As expected,
health science related businesses are heavily interested in partnering
with this rising star. Multiple sites adjacent and in close proximity to
the ACHE campus ideal are available through FCRA for medical research
and complementary operations.
Located in Fort Smith and
Barling, Chaffee Crossing has become the economic development engine of
western Arkansas. People and businesses alike are drawn to the Chaffee
Crossing lifestyle. Sixteen corporate and regional headquarters and
numerous commercial businesses have generated nearly 3,600 jobs, 29
residential developments, and a variety of amenities resulting in an
exciting, vibrant mixed-use community.
One of those companies is
national transportation and logistics leader ArcBest Corporation that
built a new 200,000 square-foot headquarters building in Chaffee
Crossing. ArcBest chose the location for its strategic geographic
location in the center of the Midwest, low cost of doing business, and
beautiful surroundings with a great variety of fitness and recreational
opportunities for employees.
Of the original 7,000 acres of former Fort
Chaffee land conveyed in the 1995 BRAC round, approximately 1,400
developable acres and 860 acres of greenspace remain available for sale.
The
Fort Smith region is a bi-state center of commerce for a population
around 285,000. Arkansas’ second largest city is a destination for
commerce, health care, entertainment, history, arts and culture. Two
hospitals, the internationally recognized Unexpected Project mural and
public art project, a world-class symphony, and a surprisingly diverse,
multi-cultural community are even more reasons to be drawn to western
Arkansas.
Fort Smith is widely known for its manufacturing capability
and complete transportation portfolio—two interstates, rail, river and
commercial air service. Regional industry is strengthened by a skilled,
trainable workforce and supported by customized training through local
universities. Several major markets are within a five hour drive—Little
Rock, Memphis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Joplin, Springfield, Tulsa,
Oklahoma City, Wichita and Dallas.
Surrounding Chaffee
Crossing’s quiet and eco-friendly industrial neighborhood is a healthy
mix of residential and traditional developments; over the past ten
years, 29 residential neighborhoods, regional university classrooms,
medical clinics and numerous recreational amenities have been created.
Miles of multi-use trails are in use and more are under construction.
Fishing lakes, golf, softball, soccer, nature centers and other
amenities are within a short bike ride of neighborhoods. A 200-acre
state nature center is surrounded by neighborhoods and other outdoor
activities. Corporate neighbors find this Smart Growth style of
development especially appealing when relocating management team members
and their families.
People and organizations are drawn
to the award-winning Chaffee Crossing lifestyle. This is a community on
the rise at the crossroads of U.S. transportation, industry, commerce,
medical education, tourism, and recreation. To learn more about
development opportunities, design guidelines and amenities, visit ChaffeeCrossing.com.
GENOMICS THRIVE IN ALABAMA
“Biotech”,
“startup” and “international corporate expansion”—all popular terms in
this exponential information age of disruption and entrepreneurship,
though not commonly found all in one place. But at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
(HudsonAlpha) and its campus in Cummings Research Park (CRP),
Huntsville, Alabama bioscience spinouts and seed companies share space
with established life science enterprises, such as Discovery Life
Sciences.
Locating
on the biotech campus offers life sciences companies of any stage or
size access to the cutting edge of biotechnology and flexibility to
grow. Since nonprofit HudsonAlpha has a mission to foster the success
and growth of bioscience companies, it is neither an ordinary incubator
nor landlord.
More than 40 life sciences companies currently reside on
campus, taking advantage of its collaborative culture and its proximity
to on-site cutting-edge research and world class sequencing
capabilities.
Life sciences companies can lease a
single workstation, a single lab, a suite of offices, or any combination
of space within three buildings on campus. Unlike many incubators,
HudsonAlpha does not require an equity stake in its resident Associate
Companies and also does not aim to graduate them out in order to bring
in new companies.
Rather, the economic development team there works like
a mini-chamber for its current tenants to bring them business
programming and resources, networking events, and best of all space to
expand as companies need it.
“Our goal is to provide
assistance to the bioscience companies of all sizes that locate on the
HudsonAlpha campus, by supporting growth in increments and durations
that fit the business of biotech,” says VP for Economic Development,
Carter Wells. Programming focuses on:
1) access to capital,
2) business
operations,
3) regulatory issues and compliance,
4) IP assessment and
protection,
5) preparation for acquisition/ merger and
6) partnerships.
Sites
on the campus are available to biosicence companies seeking
headquarters, space for advanced manufacturing and research and
development (R&D) in an established genomics biotech cluster.
Worldwide, many in big pharma, like Bayer and J&J, have established
their own “farm-team” style incubators in order to continuously bring
new ideas. HudsonAlpha offers the same innovative environment to biotech
corporations seeking to benefit from new IP and discoveries.
Superior
shared spaces and full services leases, make locating at HudsonAlpha
the first of many simple choices that allow biotech management teams to
spend their time and effort on and in the business.
CEOs find that
rather than spinning wheels coordinating adequate internet bandwidth, or
finding impressive space for meetings with potential investors, they
can spend time on solid pitch decks, effective business models and
critical reimbursement considerations.
“Many times when
a company first contacts me, they are seeking 2500 square feet, but I
am pleased to lease them only a single workstation or lab. Once they
have seen the campus, the shared conference rooms, library, auditorium
and classroom, startups and early stage companies realize they can spend
their funding on progressing the science and product instead overhead,”
says Amy Sturdivant, Director of Business Recruitment.
Companies
located at HudsonAlpha work in many subsectors of life sciences
including: providing biospecimens to research scientists; offering
diagnostic services to physicians and patients; medical devices; and
developing and testing biopharmaceuticals.
“When I came
from California, I found everything was here that I needed and more. We
have been able to take the promise of our patents and attract the
buyers we need to move our company forward and on to the next idea,”
said Randall Moreadith, PhD, MD, MBA, Serina Therapeutics.
Bioscience
companies on the HudsonAlpha campus enjoy a collaborative environment
alongside world class researchers in, a genomic medicine clinic, and a
high-energy team solely focused on providing genomic literacy to
students, teachers and the public.
Human, plant and animal genomics are
the focus of the faculty on campus who came to Huntsville, Alabama from
Stanford, Emory, and Vanderbilt to name a few.
HudsonAlpha
leaders recognize that the Institute will create the most value for
society when working with partners who have complementary expertise or
access to medical and educational communities across the country and
world that are not routinely accessible.
Breakthrough discoveries in
medicine rely on combining HudsonAlpha’s genomics expertise with medical
practitioners’ experiences and unique patient groups.
HudsonAlpha
faculty investigators currently collaborate with more than 700
researchers and clinicians around the world in projects that will
ultimately advance scientific understanding, improve human health,
promote agriculture and protect the environment.
HudsonAlpha’s
biotech campus is surrounded by a community of talented, skilled and
intelligent individuals motivated to apply knowledge in ways that create
tangible benefits. Engineering in North Alabama propelled rockets into
orbit, landed men on the moon and sent information-seeking probes into
deep space.
For more than 50 years, Huntsville has
applied its expertise to aviation and missiles at the U.S. Army’s
Redstone Arsenal, and has accomplished great feats for NASA and the
Army. HudsonAlpha is applying the same passion and drive to the promise
of genomics and use of biotechnology to improve the way we approach
health and disease.
Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the United States, co-locates Fortune
500 companies with local and international businesses specializing in a
range of high-tech industries: aerospace and defense, hardware and
software development, engineering, research and development, along with
the Biotech Campus at HudsonAlpha.
Huntsville is home
to major employers in several sectors. Included in the mix of companies
are Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Boeing (aerospace and
defense), Adtran (telecommunications and information technology) as well
as internationally recognized life sciences and research companies,
such as Aviagen and Nektar.
Biosciences are a priority
for the city of Huntsville, Madison County, the state of Alabama.
HudsonAlpha is continuously working with the economic development
partners to strengthen policies and incentives for the life sciences
industry. Alabama already offers tax incentives and training well worth
evaluating for growing life sciences companies.
According
to Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, “in Huntsville, you can do your
research, development, engineering and manufacturing all in the same
location. This systems approach is why Huntsville continues to be on the
radar for companies looking to innovate and create.”
from BusinessFacilities.com