The Center in Biomolecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics at SUNY Stony Brook conducts research and technology development in the areas of functional genomics instrumentation, gene discovery, drug design and delivery, and smart micro- and nano-based biomaterials and biosensors.

The Center of Disease Modeling and Therapy Discovery at SUNY Buffalo conducts research to develop new therapies to treat and prevent diseases.

The New York Structural Biology Center at City University of New York provides researchers with state-of-the-art equipment for research collaboration.

The High Resolution Imaging of Functional Neural Circuits in Behavior and Pathology Center at Columbia University develops new technologies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.

The Genomic Technologies & Information Sciences Center at Cornell University focuses on technologies for identifying genes and gene functions. The center plans to establish a bioinformatics and computational biology research center that applies genomic theories and technologies to solve problems and support projects in agriculture, biosciences, bioengineering and veterinary medicine.

The Center for Pharmacogenomics at Albany Medical College identifies candidate genes for disease susceptibility, as well as adverse reactions to chemicals and drugs. Findings will be used to develop new technologies, including those that uncover susceptibility to drug therapies.

A new research center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine is part of a national and international multi-disciplinary consortium that is developing a large-scale project on complex biological systems, with funding from the National Institute of Health.

Life Sciences Company Expands Work

Integrated Nano-Technologies (INT) will invest $15 million and create more than 100 new jobs at its facility in Henrietta, near Rochester. The biotech company has developed and tested a prototype bio-sensor, and is making this investment to further its research and development efforts and advance the product into manufacturing. The company currently employs 22 workers.

INT can apply for a $300,000 capital grant from Empire State Development.

The investment will allow Integrated Nano-Technologies to acquire additional space, purchase new equipment and renovate the additional space.

INT will expand its work in developing and testing a prototype biosensor used in the merger of DNA technology and microelectronics. The sensor will be incorporated into the BioDetect System to provide rapid and accurate biological detection that can be performed outside the laboratory.

Also in the Rochester metro, Current Communications Services will invest $2.2 million and create 400 new jobs during the next five years. The company, which develops Internet-based communications systems, will use the new facility as a call center to provide customers with support and technical assistance.

Current Communications Services is a division of Current Technologies, a Germantown, Md.,-based company that has developed products in broadband communications, making it possible to deliver Internet connections to residences and businesses via existing utility lines.

Current Technologies’ equipment is overlaid on the electric distribution network and is deployed by a utility company’s existing personnel and contractors. Current Technologies’ network, once deployed, will enable utility companies to capitalize on their existing network infrastructure by offering not only Internet ability, but by offering new power distribution services such as automated meter reading, automatic outage detection services and demand side management.

The company was expected to begin moving into a 15,000 square foot building by the end of the year. It considered locations in Maryland and Ohio before deciding to invest in the Rochester metro.

Current Communications can apply for a $800,000 capital grant from Empire State Development thanks to its decision.

Two companies also planning for the future are AMD and IBM. They have begun to jointly develop chip-making technologies that can be used in high-performance products.

Engineers began working on the project earlier this year in IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center in East Fishkill.

The new processes will be aimed at improving microprocessor performance and reducing power consumption, and will be based on advanced structures and materials such as high-speed silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors.

The agreement includes collaboration on 65- and 45-nanometer (a billionth of a meter) technologies to be implemented on 300-millimeter silicon wafers.

The companies expect the first products to appear in 2005.

AMD and IBM will be able to use the technologies to manufacture products in their own chip fabrication facilities.

The companies were expected to begin production on 90-nanometer solution by the end of the year. But they are also keeping an eye on the future.

“We are expanding technology development efforts for our next generation of processors, targeted at 65 nanometers and below,” said Bill Siegle, senior vice president of technology operations and chief scientist for AMD. “By collaborating with IBM, we can deliver performance and functionality, while reducing the cost of technology development.”

Pfizer Increases

Presence in Manhattan

New York City will receive a share of the life sciences pie after Pfizer Inc. chose it for a business consolidation and expansion project that will create 2,000 new jobs and retain the 5,500 workers it currently employs in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The world’s largest pharmaceutical company will invest up to $560 million to purchase a new facility in Manhattan and renovate its corporate headquarters campus, also in Manhattan. Pfizer expects to invest more than $1 billion in New York during the next 15 years.

Pfizer will purchase and renovate a 634,000 square foot building and expects to have the first 1,000 employees working there sometime next year. An additional 1,000 jobs will be added during the next five years.

Pfizer’s world headquarters employs about 4,500 workers. The company also has 1,000 workers at a manufacturing facility in Williamsburg, N.Y.

Pfizer’s job growth in New York City is the result of its merger with Warner Lambert in 2000, the acquisition of Pharmacia and the need to expand its marketing and corporate service functions. The merger and acquisition gave Pfizer a significant presence in Michigan and New Jersey. New York competed directly against these states to win the project.

Pfizer can apply for up to $1.4 million in grants from Empire State Development. The New York City Economic Development Corp. has offered an incentive package, worth up to $45.8 million, if Pfizer creates 4,300 new jobs by the end of the 15-year term of the agreement.

Manufacturer Expands

in Springville

Old Economy-type companies also get a boost in New York state.

Horschel Brothers Precision will invest $1 million to expand its operations in Springville, creating 45 new jobs.

The manufacturer will construct a 36,000 square foot addition to its facility to accommodate its increased business activities.

Horschel Brothers Precision is a precision machining and manufacturing operation that has realized steady growth for the past two decades. It recently completed an assets purchase of another company that produced harmonic dampers for high-performance motors.

The company plans to keep growing all aspects of its business, and the existing facility is not large enough to handle the added production.

The company’s current work force stands at nearly 80 employees, and the 45 new jobs will be created during the next two years. The $1 million investment will lead to the construction of 36,000 additional square feet to its 43,000 square foot facility.

The project will introduce a new product line, and would also entail new installation costs and purchase of new production and non-production equipment.

Horschel Brothers is eligible to apply for a $100,000 grant from Empire State Development.

Sysco Food Services of Syracuse is eligible for a $250,000 working capital grant from Empire State Development after completing its $6.8 million expansion project earlier this year.

The expansion will create 120 new jobs. The company currently employs more than 500 workers and the new jobs will be created during the next three years.

Sysco Food Services, a unit of Sysco Corp., added 60,000 square feet of space, bringing the total size of the company’s facility to 300,000 square feet.

The expansion includes the purchase of 3 acres of land, new construction and related infrastructure work, the purchase of machinery and equipment, and working capital expenditures.

The new construction portion includes 25,000 square feet of additional freezer space and a 35,000 square foot dry warehouse.

“The expansion will enhance our ability to provide the optimal mix of products and services to support the growth of our customers,” said Joseph Wood, president and CEO of Sysco-Syracuse.

Custom Air Design Inc. will bring work currently being done in Malaysia to New York in a project that will retain its 50 current employees, while adding an additional 45 jobs.

The company is working with a Rochester-based manufacturer, Rochester Midland Corp., to assume production of feminine napkin dispensers.

Custom Air Design will invest more than $900,000 in machinery and the purchase of the 700,000 square foot manufacturing facility it currently leases in Honeoye, about 25 miles south of Rochester.

“This project will enable our business to be a fully integrated metal fabricating operation and better service our customers,” said Robert Greenebaum, president of Custom Air Design.

Custom Air Design will be eligible to apply for a $75,000 capital grant from Empire State Development.

Ken Krizner is managing editor of Expansion Management magazine. He can be reached at kkrizner@penton.com.