Recruiting a diverse group of participants is one of the major challenges in clinical trials. Obatala can assemble those cohorts in the lab, tailoring age range, ethnicity and gender by combining its pipeline of stem cells, human-derived hydrogels and media products to mimic tissue from patients from specific populations.
Obatala is the first life sciences firm in New Orleans headed by a Black woman, and the first minority female-owned biotech firm in the state to raise more than $1 million in institutional funds. Promoting diversity in clinical research is a key part of Obatala’s mission, and in September 2022 it announced $3 million in investment from its latest round of financing.
Diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer disproportionately affect minorities. Frazier believes the company’s technology can speed the development of treatments for the people who need them the most, and who have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials.
AxoSim is also looking to the future. The company is working on models for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. AxoSim’s plans to tackle models for multiple sclerosis and glioblastoma, a nearly always fatal brain cancer, are on hold.
“Part of scaling up and maturing the company is learning to focus more, to be deliberate about what disease models to go after,” Curley said. “It’s not always easy when you have a platform that can do so many things.”
Visit www.opportunitylouisiana.gov.
New Mexico: Outpacing the U.S. for Bioscience Growth
The bioscience industry in the U.S. is a key economic sector for growth, with employment growing by 11% from 2018 to 2021, a time where most industries saw a decrease in growth. Considering New Mexico’s long history as a center for R&D and low-cost manufacturing environment, it’s no surprise the state is well positioned to capitalize on this industry growth. The state has even outpaced the national industry employment growth rate of 11%. New Mexico saw a 15.8% total employment growth across the bioscience industry during the same period. New Mexico has become a standout choice for bioscience companies considering their next expansion location.
Curia, a pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing company, broke ground on its newest expansion in Albuquerque, which will add up to 274 employees and is expected to invest more than $100 million into the facility. The investment will go towards a 65,000-square-foot expansion of the facility including the addition of a new advanced high-speed sterile fill-finish vial line.
“We see this expansion as a great opportunity to make a greater impact in New Mexico, which I’m proud to call our home,” said Jonathan Shoemaker, vice president and general manager of Curia Albuquerque. “We are fortunate to have access to a skilled workforce and strong partnerships in the community, all committed to growing businesses, creating jobs, and fulfilling our mission to improve patients’ lives.” The expansion is estimated to have a potential economic impact of more than $1 billion over the next decade and the new flexible filling and high-speed fill-finish vial lines are planned to be operational in 2025.
“We are fortunate to have access to a skilled workforce and strong partnerships in the community, all committed to growing businesses, creating jobs, and fulfilling our mission to improve patients’ lives.”
— Jonathan Shoemaker, VP/General Manager,
Curia Albuquerque
Another bioscience company benefitting from the R&D foundation New Mexico has fostered is NTxBio. NTxBio is a rapidly expanding life sciences startup spun off from one of New Mexico’s national labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory. NTxBio aims to make the discovery and production of biologic materials faster, purer, and more affordable. The company plans to accomplish this by accelerating the next generations of RNA product development through two patented host-independent manufacturing platforms. While NTxBio started at a small lab at the Santa Fe Community College in 2015, they have since expanded to a 25,000-square-foot building in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, creating 116 high paying jobs in the process. NTxBio’s rapid success demonstrates what is made possible by New Mexico’s collaborative tech ecosystem and access to R&D resources and talent throughout the state.
Among the sources for new talent in New Mexico are the three research universities located throughout the state, the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, and New Mexico Tech. These universities provide students with unmatched opportunities to collaborate directly with industry partners, helping to develop the skills and knowledge companies are looking for. New Mexico’s research universities performed a combined $193 million in bioscience related R&D in 2020, equaling just over 50% of the total academic R&D expenditures for the year. New Mexico is committed to developing the talent of the future.
Visit nmpartnership.com.
Rhode Island: Equipped to Support Manufacturing
The global next-generation biomanufacturing market is expected to surpass $43 billion by 2030, largely attributed to the necessity of large-scale manufacturing for biotech and pharma products to deliver life-changing therapies.
Among the states that are best equipped to support this boom is Rhode Island. According to the state’s economic development organization, Rhode Island Commerce, the Ocean State’s health and life sciences industry concentration is 31% higher than the national average, with a strong base of innovative organizations spanning next gen biopharma manufacturing, drug delivery, genetic engineering, immunotherapy, medical device design and development, and digital health. Neuroscience is also a point of distinction for Rhode Island, with five best-in-class, local institutions partnering to collaborate on research including: Brown University, University of Rhode Island, Lifespan, Care New England, and the Providence VA Medical Center.
While it’s easy to assume the biotech and pharma industries are already operating at maximum capacity, there is even more growth on the horizon. Fueled by more than $1.83 billion in awards from the National Institute of Health (NIH) over the last decade and the 186 biotechnology patents held by local innovators, Rhode Island offers an ocean of opportunities for biotech and pharma businesses to land, expand, and succeed.
One such success story is Rubius Therapeutics, which opened a 135,000-square-foot facility in Smithfield, RI to manufacture red cell therapeutics. The project was completed nine months ahead of schedule and created an abundance of new jobs. “Rhode Island proved an ideal location with access to existing high-caliber talent across the Providence region,” said Spencer Fisk, senior vice president and chief technical operations officer at Rubius Therapeutics. “Local workforce development programs, such as RI BIO’s Leadership and Development program and the RI Chamber of Commerce’s Wavemaker Fellowship, provide public-private partnerships that give companies the ability to train and attract employees in a way that fits business needs. The right mix of talent factors allows for team growth at a fast pace—our team in Smithfield grew from three to 71 employees in less than 18 months.”
Thanks to its business-friendly environment and thriving biomedical innovation ecosystem, some of the nation’s leading Fortune 100 companies also call Rhode Island their home, including CVS Health and newer arrival Johnson & Johnson.
Rhode Island Commerce and its partners offer concierge support to help thriving and growing biotech and pharma businesses find their place within the Ocean State. They not only help companies successfully locate or expand operations, but also provide reshoring and FDI support, supply chain connections, site selection, credit and tax incentive analysis, workforce hiring and training programs, and more.
Amid a booming time for biotech and pharma, it’s critical that companies choose a state partner that offers everything they need to succeed—an established industry ecosystem, access to economic resources and sufficient funding, a strong talent pipeline and a high quality of life for employees. Rhode Island offers all of this, and more, paired with a proven track record of success.
Visit commerceri.com.
Topeka, Kansas: Growing Innovation Hub
One cannot talk about biotechnology in Topeka, Kansas without mentioning the area’s innovation scene and ever-evolving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Recent and ongoing projects and programming led by such entities as GO Topeka, the local economic development agency, and Plug and Play Topeka, a targeted startup accelerator based in the area, are perfect testaments to that.
GO Topeka and Plug and Play Topeka—the latter focuses on developing startups in animal health and agricultural technology—work closely together to advance the region’s startup potential by putting northeast Kansas on the map for novel ventures that cut through the noise. Just recently the pair joined forces with the Mid America Angels Capital Investment Network to host an Angel Investor Showcase in Kansas’ capital city. An example of the types of events the greater Topeka area continues to embrace, the showcase brought together community stakeholders, business leaders, startup companies, and potential investors.
“Topeka is growing as a hub for innovation, and the angel investor event was an exciting opportunity to showcase the community support network we have for the amazing talent in our area, including startups like Love Lifesciences.”
— Stephanie Moran, Senior VP Of Innovation, GO Topeka
“Topeka is growing as a hub for innovation, and the angel investor event was an exciting opportunity to showcase the community support network we have for the amazing talent in our area, including startups like Love Lifesciences,” said Stephanie Moran, GO Topeka’s senior vice president of innovation.
Hailing from Kansas, Love Lifesciences is a local startup focused on the production of innovative, new medical injection devices created to improve medication adherence by patients around the world. The early-stage company—which had its leadership pitch at the recent Angel Investor Showcase—is one of many area startups in biotech-adjacent fields that see the value in Topeka’s approach to supporting entrepreneurs and advancing innovative ideas.
“It was an honor to have the opportunity to present Love Lifesciences’ mission at the Mid America Angels, GO Topeka, Plug and Play event,” said Bradley Hopper, the startup’s co-founder and chief technology officer. “It is events like this that really bring people together to help grow a community’s entrepreneurial spirit in a positive way. I am grateful to be able to call Topeka home and am very excited to see all the hard work our local organizations are putting forth, as we continue to grow our city and its reach.”
Clearly, Topeka has put an emphasis on advancing innovation in biotechnology and beyond. Local elected officials and partners remain supportive of such work and hope to see it expand in the years to come, as the community makes strategic investments to that end. With a $14.5 million ASTRA (Animal Science, Technology, Research, and Agriculture) Innovation Center expected to come online by early 2024 in the heart of the capital city, Topeka is positioned to become a heavy hitter in the innovation and entrepreneurship space. Some may even begin to call it “the Silicon Valley of the Midwest.”
Visit www.gotopeka.com.
Pasco County, FL: Life Sciences Corridor Booming
Florida’s healthcare and life sciences industries are growing at a record pace and companies focused on medical research, health product development, and manufacturing are locating to Pasco County in north Tampa Bay.
They are building and growing state-of-the-art facilities close to Tampa International Airport, major universities, and interstate freeways while staying in proximity to new communities attracting a workforce with advance skill sets required in the life sciences industry.
These attributes helped Moffitt Cancer Center’s decision to build a 775-acre research, development, manufacturing, and office park along The Suncoast Parkway, Tampa’s quickly developing Life Sciences Corridor. Considering an existing workforce pipeline augmented with more than 20,000 graduates annually, it is no surprise that Moffitt chose Pasco, providing affirmation to decisions made by international healthcare companies such as Touchpoint Medical and fast-growing start-ups like Bravado Pharmaceuticals to invest in Pasco.
Pasco County features a pro-business government leadership in a right to work state with local incentives, low operating costs, and no personal state income tax.
Pasco Schools now include 40 pathways in Career and Technical Education programs through partnerships with local industries to create a talent pipeline focused on developing the future workforce to pair with the needs of the business community.
The award-winning Workforce Connect Pasco platform allows employers to find programs that produce talent that will thrive in their industries, and explore resources that can help their business stand out to top candidates. It also allows job seekers to discover and explore various career pathways in a diverse economy of fast-growing industries.
Moffitt Cancer Center’s expanded clinical and research facilities will accommodate growth in the Tampa Bay region of complementary third-party research, product manufacturing, clinical providers, and conferencing facilities. The campus will be a magnet for biotech and life sciences enterprises and innovation and will bring together new partners and collaborators. The entire campus is estimated to support more than 14,500 additional jobs in the area.
“There is no question that Moffitt is a leader in research and delivery of life saving cancer care. This campus will serve as catalyst for the life sciences industry for not only the region, but the State of Florida,” said Bill Cronin, President and CEO of Pasco EDC. The multi-year, multi-phase project will include over 1.4 million square feet of research lab/office, light industrial/manufacturing, general office, and clinical building space.
“We are truly thankful for the funding support from the Pasco County commissioners,” said Patrick Hwu, M.D., President and CEO of Moffitt Cancer Center. “Moffitt’s world-class expansion campus in Pasco County will allow us to treat more patients, conduct more groundbreaking research and develop innovative partnerships all in support of our mission to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.”
In February 2020, TouchPoint Medical opened its global headquarters in Pasco County. The company relocated operations from multiple states to Pasco County after investing over $23 million in a 118,000 square foot facility right off the Suncoast Parkway.
“After completing a thorough evaluation of multiple options on where to locate the global headquarters and Americas operations facility for TouchPoint Medical, we selected Pasco County,” said Brian McNeill, President and CEO of TouchPoint, Inc., the parent company of TouchPoint Medical.
Visit www.PascoEDC.com.
