JUNE 2005
New School Ties (cover)
Bio Boom
Purdue: A Leader Cultivates More Leaders
Purdue Research Park
Taking Flight in the Bluegrass
Commerce Lexington
Frostburg State University Works with Western Maryland Officials to Bring Tech Businesses to Campus
Western Maryland - Technology Here
Southern Miss: A Force in Workforce and Economic Development
The University of Southern Mississippi - Gulf Coast
Venturing Forth in Stillwater
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UNIVERSITIES AS ECONOMIC ENGINES
UNIVERSITIES AS ECONOMIC ENGINES
Purdue: A Leader Cultivates More Leaders
Purdue Research Park
just north of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., continues to
expand with a growing roster of new companies and new facilities. Named
top research park in the nation in 2004 by its peers at the Association
of University Research Parks, the research park is becoming a new destination
for more and more entrepreneurs and established companies, both from Indiana
and elsewhere.
In April, construction to add 45,000 square feet to the Purdue Research Park's flagship business incubator, the Purdue Technology Center, was completed and Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company developing a diagnostic and vitamin-based drug-targeting and delivery system, moved in as the building's anchor tenant.
"Good ideas need room to grow," said Charles E. Schalliol, then president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads, a public-private collaboration that supports Central Indiana's life science network. "The Purdue Research Park is a critical piece of the 'innovation infrastructure' that's necessary to grow the next generation of life sciences companies. This expansion is great news and cements central Indiana and Purdue as an emerging hot spot for bio-entrepreneurship."
The park's life sciences industry continues to expand with the addition of QuadraSpec Inc., a company licensing Purdue-patented protein-diagnostics technology that utilizes an instrument similar to a compact-disc player to identify proteins in the bloodstream that can indicate the onset of many diseases. Also receiving a boost from research park business development services is the newly-formed Andara Life Science Inc., a company that plans to commercialize a Purdue-patented biomedical treatment that may bring quality of life improvements to paralyzed patients.
"A huge benefit to growing a life sciences company in Indiana is the tremendous support system provided by central Indiana firms who specialize in regulatory affairs expertise, reimbursement strategies, intellectual property and life science-based capital formation," said Mark Carney, a Carmel, Ind., healthcare entrepreneur, Purdue graduate and Andara's president and chief executive officer.
FuturaGene Inc., a biotechnology company that is developing ways to grow crops in extremely unfavorable conditions, is keeping headquarters at the research park following its "graduation" from an incubator system where it started operations four years ago. "Moving to the new office reflects the amazing growth that the company has achieved in the last three years, such as expanding the operations globally and enlisting on the stock exchange in London," said Bruno Ruggiero, the company's chief executive officer.
The synergy created by a cluster of more than 70 high-tech companies in the research park, and Purdue's commitment to accelerate business growth and job creation, helped Butler International Inc. make the decision to locate its largest Indiana design center at the research park in December. More than 40 new high-paying jobs were filled early this year by the incoming New Jersey-based design engineering firm. The foundation, in partnership with city and county officials, is renovating an 111,000-square-foot warehouse facility that will be able to accommodate the more than 200 employees Butler anticipates it will hire this year.
"The location of this high-technology enterprise at the Purdue Research Park is an important step for Indiana, because it demonstrates that the state is very competitive in the knowledge-based economy," said Martin C. Jischke, president of Purdue University and president of the Purdue Research Foundation, which owns and manages the research park. "Purdue's strength in engineering, as well as aeronautics and astronautics, will be a major asset to these companies."
In April, construction to add 45,000 square feet to the Purdue Research Park's flagship business incubator, the Purdue Technology Center, was completed and Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company developing a diagnostic and vitamin-based drug-targeting and delivery system, moved in as the building's anchor tenant.
"Good ideas need room to grow," said Charles E. Schalliol, then president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads, a public-private collaboration that supports Central Indiana's life science network. "The Purdue Research Park is a critical piece of the 'innovation infrastructure' that's necessary to grow the next generation of life sciences companies. This expansion is great news and cements central Indiana and Purdue as an emerging hot spot for bio-entrepreneurship."
The park's life sciences industry continues to expand with the addition of QuadraSpec Inc., a company licensing Purdue-patented protein-diagnostics technology that utilizes an instrument similar to a compact-disc player to identify proteins in the bloodstream that can indicate the onset of many diseases. Also receiving a boost from research park business development services is the newly-formed Andara Life Science Inc., a company that plans to commercialize a Purdue-patented biomedical treatment that may bring quality of life improvements to paralyzed patients.
"A huge benefit to growing a life sciences company in Indiana is the tremendous support system provided by central Indiana firms who specialize in regulatory affairs expertise, reimbursement strategies, intellectual property and life science-based capital formation," said Mark Carney, a Carmel, Ind., healthcare entrepreneur, Purdue graduate and Andara's president and chief executive officer.
FuturaGene Inc., a biotechnology company that is developing ways to grow crops in extremely unfavorable conditions, is keeping headquarters at the research park following its "graduation" from an incubator system where it started operations four years ago. "Moving to the new office reflects the amazing growth that the company has achieved in the last three years, such as expanding the operations globally and enlisting on the stock exchange in London," said Bruno Ruggiero, the company's chief executive officer.
The synergy created by a cluster of more than 70 high-tech companies in the research park, and Purdue's commitment to accelerate business growth and job creation, helped Butler International Inc. make the decision to locate its largest Indiana design center at the research park in December. More than 40 new high-paying jobs were filled early this year by the incoming New Jersey-based design engineering firm. The foundation, in partnership with city and county officials, is renovating an 111,000-square-foot warehouse facility that will be able to accommodate the more than 200 employees Butler anticipates it will hire this year.
"The location of this high-technology enterprise at the Purdue Research Park is an important step for Indiana, because it demonstrates that the state is very competitive in the knowledge-based economy," said Martin C. Jischke, president of Purdue University and president of the Purdue Research Foundation, which owns and manages the research park. "Purdue's strength in engineering, as well as aeronautics and astronautics, will be a major asset to these companies."
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| At a Purdue Research Park entrepreneurial forum, Chad Barden, QuadraSpec's president and CEO, demonstrates his company's "BioCD," which can analyze a drop of blood for more than 10,000 diseases in a short amount of time. |