Building biotech in Southern California Monday, February 24, 2003 If you are an EDPro involved in biotech investments, you'll want to read this review of developments in Southern California. The article underlines an important point. Business development in biotech is inherently complex and collaborative. You don't see a Bill Gates or a Henry Ford in biotech for a reason. Regions have to have both a strong research base and specialized professional networks to translate this research into business. Although many regions are pushing biotech development, only a few will likely create major job generators. For a review, see a recent Brookings Institution report. I speak from hard experience. Eighteen years ago, I started the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. Although we have boosted the research base from $1.5 million a year to over $10 million a year, biotech business development has only recently started to take root. (The corruption of Louisiana politics has also slowed the process considerably.) More recently, I worked in Oklahoma City to boost biotech investment there. While the research base much larger here, accelerating business development is also slow. Now, I'm working in Charleston with the Medical University South Carolina. The prospects here seem good. MUSC has a strong, expanding research base that produces good science. The state is accelerating it's commitments to biotech. The one wild card: the business development networks in Charleston are relatively weak. For those of you involved in biotech, the National Science Foundation has a good resource for EDPros in Bio-Link, a web site that explores how to prepare a biotech workforce. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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