At the hub of biotechnology

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http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/147-12102008-1635559.html

At the hub of biotechnology

By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE

At the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Buckingham, scientists work on

finding treatments for hepatitis B, cancer and other diseases.

In Philadelphia, pharmaceutical companies work to create drugs for a wide range

of ailments, from rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes to Crohn’s disease and HIV.

In all, 97 new biotechnology medicines are being developed in Pennsylvania, most

of them in the Philadelphia region, according to a recent report by the

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group for the

country’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies.

Industry experts say the region’s high number of educational institutions, its

proximity to the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and its highly skilled

workforce make it fertile ground for biotechnology startups.

“We’ve got this full spectrum of what it takes to be a biotech hub,” said former

Congressman Jim Greenwood, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

“This region is one of the country’s major biotechnology hubs.”

Pennsylvania ranks No. 4 nationwide in biotechnology venture capital investments

— $2.7 million — and was ranked first by Business Facilities magazine in terms

of overall biotechnology strength, based on criteria including state and grant

funding, employment and tax exemptions.

The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, located on 10 acres next to the

Doylestown Airport, houses companies such as Immunotope, a clinical-stage firm

developing products to treat and prevent cancer and chronic viral infections;

and Datascope, which makes cardiovascular devices. Those companies share lab

space and ideas with nonprofit organizations and educational universities

including the Fox Chase Cancer Center and Drexel University.

The center is an offshoot of the Hepatitis B Foundation, a nonprofit

organization that raises funds for and researches a cure for the disease. The

foundation shares ownership of the biotechnology center with Delaware Valley

College.

“I believed this area would be very conducive to research and supportive of what

we’re doing,” said Dr. Block, the center’s president and founder of the

foundation.

The center’s two dozen tenants work alongside each other to research and develop

novel new drug therapies for hepatitis, cancer and other diseases, said chief

operating officer Jim Horan. Many of the companies are offshoots of university

research, he said.

“We are the center of the life science [industry],” Horan said. “We help launch

discoveries and commercialize products being developed here.”

Biotechnology and other life sciences companies are attractive to commercial

residents because they bring a highly educated, highly paid workforce. They’re

also unlikely to move once they settle someplace, because it costs too much to

outfit a building for their needs, said Mickey Flynn, president of Pennsylvania

Bio. A biotechnology drug could cost up to $1 billion and take 10 to 15 years to

bring to market, he said.

“The life science industry, and the biological portion of that industry, hasn’t

matured at all,” Flynn said. “We’ve got a long way to go. There’s that

commitment to eradicating the debilitating diseases. I think as long as that

passion stays in play, coupled with the support of funding, and the support of

the state, and the other pieces we need to build a company, we’re going to

continue to be successful.”

While the nation’s credit crunch has slowed companies’ access to capital, the

industry continues to grow, expects said.

“We’re really at the beginning of the biotechnology century,” Greenwood said.

“Biotechnology is all about our ability to analyze our own DNA, understand at a

molecular level what causes disease and apply that knowledge. We have an

infinite amount to learn. We have an infinite number of diseases.”

Crissa Shoemaker DeBree can be reached at 215-345-3186 or

cshoemaker@....

December 10, 2008 10:16 AM