s biomedical and pharmaceutical technologies converge with information technology, the high-tech centers are gaining a shaper edge. Take the case of Nandan Padukone, president of Silico Insights, Woburn, Mass., who previously was employed at a drug company in Cambridge, Mass. His co-founder moved to the Boston area from a drug company in San Diego. Both are bioengineers by training. Their year-old company represents a new segment of the biotech industry called bioinformatics, a field which aims to develop software to make sense of the huge amounts of data generated by genomic and other drug research. "We're taking biological processes and marrying them to information technology," says Padukone.
        What better place to do that than the Boston area, which already is home to biotech, medical research and scores of other technology companies? "Half the skills our company needs are in drug development, and half are in software development,"says Padukone. Biotech growth in a place like Boston is practically a natural process.
        What's happening in Boston is happening in other biotech hot spots as well, including the Bay Area, San Diego and Seattle on the West Coast. Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut represent a concentration of biotech facilities in the Northeast, followed by North Carolina's Research Triangle, the D.C. area and Texas. The industry is thriving in Canada, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, and in the U.K, as well.
        Padukone's landlord is clearly optimistic about Silico Insights' growth. The company is currently renting about 5,000 sq. ft. (465 sq. m.) in a technology-oriented office park, but the landlord is prepared to help them expand.
        The growth of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in their historic areas reflects the nature of the business. Start-ups usually need alliances with more established companies to help them over the long development and clinical trial phases, and even with marketing and distribution. Proximity to a university or universities with fine biomedical research departments or independent research institutes is a key requirement.
        Biotech companies are often the result of academic discoveries being commercialized, sometimes by the researchers who discover them, but more often through licensing arrangements with the university. It also helps if there are ample sources of capital. A talent pool with the right skills is critical, as well.