Alabama officials announced the location of the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology (HAIB) in Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, along with the creation of a 120-acre biotechnology site to be named the CRP Biotech Campus.
“With a $50 million commitment from the state, we’re gaining $80 million in private investments that together will help create 900 direct new jobs,” said Gov. Bob Riley. “We are actively and aggressively positioning Alabama to become a worldwide leader in biotech research and one of the premier places in the nation for these high paying jobs that can’t be exported overseas. The door to greater economic opportunity is opening wider than ever before throughout our state.”
The governor noted successful biotech research requires access to cutting-edge technology, venture capital, technology parks, a strong public-private partnership and a well-educated work force.
“The Huntsville area has all those elements in place,” said Riley. “However, this project is not just a Huntsville project. It is a boost for all of Alabama, and we will work to ensure that our long-term plans to foster the growth of high-tech and biotech research across the state continue,”
HAIB’s main building, which should be complete in the last quarter of 2007, will house the Institute and some associated biotech companies.
“We initially anticipate between five and six hundred jobs in the 2007 to 2008 period, and by the end of 2008 having an estimated combined annual payroll of $37 million,” noted Jim Hudson, president of HAIB. Within 10 years he estimates employment on the CRP Biotech Campus, including HAIB and associated biotech companies, at close to 1,600 with a combined annual payroll of more than $83 million.
Hudson outlined the three-fold mission of the Institute – biotechnology based research into why disease occurs and cost effective ways to treat it: commercializing biotechnology discoveries to stimulate economic development in Alabama; and inspiring Alabama’s youth to seek careers in science by offering them access to cutting edge biotechnology courses through distance learning. He explained that Institute scientists would develop and use a genomics-based approach to accelerate discovery.
“A practical application of understanding genetic variation is the ability to personalize medical treatments and lower the cost of health care,” said Hudson.
U.S. Congressman Bud Cramer, who also took part in the announcement, remarked that scientists at HAIB, working hand-in-hand with their partners across the state, will help physicians move from one-size-fits-all drugs to medicines targeted for specific patients. Cramer was enthusiastic in his support of the initiative.
“It was exciting and gratifying to work with the governor and other leaders from across the state to help make this project a reality,” he said. “This effort will increase Alabama’s involvement in the advancement of the biotechnology frontier, creating a future for ourselves that we hadn’t even imagined until now.”
Cramer reflected upon a recent tour of a biotechnology facility in Arizona.
“It’s about creating and sustaining an environment that will nurture science and allow scientists to translate their work into valuable medical applications.”
He also was inspired by what he called the bold, innovative vision of the Hudson-Alpha Institute and the principals involved. “Their generosity and determination has led Alabama to this opportunity.”
Jim Link, president of Teledyne Brown Engineering and chairman of the board for the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, noted the announcement is a good example of how partnerships between the private and public sectors – local, state and federal – can raise the state’s image and expectations for the future.
The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology is the fourth expansion or new building project announced for Cummings
Research Park so far this year. Charlie Grainger, chairman of the city-appointed Cummings Research Park Board, hopes the advent of this major biotech development sparks even more economic development opportunities in the park.
Groundbreaking ceremonies are anticipated for this fall.
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