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Commercial, academic and government biotechnology partnerships flourish in Brevard

by Kathy Hagood
Brevard Technical Journal

While aerospace and electronics continue to predominate the Space Coast's technology mix, the biotechnology and biomedical technology industry is growing.

With the introduction of Scripps Florida in Palm Beach County and the Space Life Science Lab here in Brevard County, Florida is expected to become a biotechnology and biomedical technology Mecca.

As commercial, academic and government biotechnology partnerships flourish across the state, Brevard is poised to benefit.

Already some area companies, like Melbourne-based Image-Guided Neurologics, are focused on developing and refining promising biotechnologies and biomedical technologies. Others, like AJT Associates of Cape Canaveral, feature those technologies as part of their overall product lineup.

IGN's has created a number of revolutionary products for less invasive treatment of neurological diseases.

AJT, by contrast, with a history in environmental control systems and water and wastewater management and treatment, recently developed a mobile medical lab and isolation unit in partnership with Science Applications International Corp.

Biotechnology and biomedical technology is a major growth industry across Florida, according to BioFlorida, an industry trade group dedicated to creating a favorable environment for the expansion of the industry in the state.

Factors favoring Florida include the strength of its academic institutions. According to BioFlorida, the University of Florida is the largest research institution in the Southeast and is ranked 19th in biomedical funding and the University of Miami School of Medicine's medical center is ranked fifth in the nation in funded research. Technology Transfer Business Magazine has ranked both universities in the top 25 that have licenses linked to new research funding.

Because Gov. Jeb Bush and the State Legislature helped lure The Scripps Research Institute, a world-renowned biomedical research center, to found Scripps Florida with a $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds, the state has another major draw for the industry.

"Florida is poised for explosive growth in the biomedical industry because of its growing pool of scientific, technical and management labor. In addition, as the "Gateway to Latin America," Florida is well positioned to serve international markets," BioFlorida concluded.

With the introduction of the world-class Space Life Sciences Lab at Kennedy Space Center and with plans for the adjacent International Space Research Park, Brevard County could become one of the state's major biotechnology and bio-medical technology magnets, according to industry watchers, including Edward Ellegood, director of policy and program management for Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI).

"The laboratory has begun to draw in academic and commercial research and we believe that interest will continue to increase over time," Ellegood said.

The state agency was created to facilitate the synergy of academic institutions, industry and federal agencies with the goal of greater economic and academic development.

The laboratory, which was built through a NASA and state partnership facilitated by the Florida Space Authority, is primarily being used for fundamental and applied biological research by Dynamac Corp., KSC's Life Sciences Services Contractor; the University of Florida; and FSRI.

FSRI recently expanded the 106,000-square-foot laboratory's capabilities by bringing on board Dr. Shaohua Xu, who specializes in the use of the laboratory's scanning probe microscope.

While the laboratory is building on the University of Florida and KSC's reputation for research in such areas as plant physiology and genetics, which are of importance for long-duration space flight, its reach could easily be broadened to include more biomedical research, Ellegood said.

"The astronauts arrive here after their missions. It makes sense to make use of the opportunity to perform more biomedical research here rather than after they travel across the country," he said.

FSRI is helping get the workforce in Brevard and other areas of the state ready for the proliferation of the biotechnology and biomedical technology industry by working with the Florida Consortium for Biotechnology Workforce Development.

The consortium has been give a $1.2 million grant from Workforce Florida Inc. to develop a biotechnology training curriculum. The project will include classroom-based courses with interactive Web-based materials.

Planning, development and evaluation of the curriculum is being supported by BioFlorida; Florida Atlantic University; the University of Florida; and the University of South Florida.

FSRI will be partnering to develop the Web-based content. The on-line coursework will be available through the FSRIe's Advanced Learning Environment (ALE), which was developed by FSRI in partnership with WFI and NASA.

"With Scripps and the Space Life Sciences Lab and other resources to come, its critical that our labor market be able to support the demands of the growing industry," Ellegood said.

For more information on the biotechnology and bio-medical technology industry in Florida, visit www.biotraining.org