Good to Grow
A number of new programs and initiatives are working to bolster Minnesota’s biotech industry.
For several years now, observers have been worrying that Minnesota’s biotech industry is lagging behind other areas of the country. Despite an abundance of biotech-friendly attributes, including strong agricultural and medical sectors and the presence of the Mayo Clinic and businesses such as Medtronic and Cargill, the local biotech scene has been struggling to take off— compared to some other areas, at least. Cities such as San Diego; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Boston; and even Madison, Wis.; have established themselves as powerhouses, thanks in part to a mix of private venture funding and public assistance such as tax grants and other incentives. California voters, for instance, recently approved $3 billion in taxpayer funded grants and loans for stem cell research. And the University of Wisconsin-Madison is building a $375 million biotech research facility as part of an overall $750 million outlay on biotechnology and health sciences.
While nothing on that scale is happening here yet, a number of new initiatives and coordinated efforts are in place. Case in point: The Minneapolis Life Sciences Capital Fund, a new seed fund established by a group of Twin Cities-area investors that will offer equity capital to emerging life sciences businesses in the Minneapolis Life Science Corridor (a partnership between the City of Minneapolis and physicians, researchers, and hospitals). The fund will look to raise $1 million initially, and a pair of local financial institutions already have signed on. Another example: The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, a newly formed St. Louis Park-based nonprofit group that is working on a number of projects aimed at developing and supporting the state’s biotech industry. The group’s undertakings include a statewide survey and assessment of Minnesota’s biotech assets and potential that will be released later this year; BioMinnesota 2025, a plan designed to create a two decade vision for the state’s biobusiness industry; and the BioBusiness Resource Network. According to the organization’s chairman, Medtronic Vice President Dale Wahlstrom, the network will be a service that offers practical help for nascent biotech businesses.
There has been investment in the state as well—and more could be on the way. The University of Minnesota recently opened a 4,000-square-foot Biotechnology Resource Center as part of its Biodale facility on the Twin Cities campus. Last year, University Enterprise Laboratories, a 125,000-square-foot nonprofit bioscience incubator that houses 13 biotech startup companies opened up in St. Paul. And the U of M has submitted a request for a $60 million medical bioscience building as part of its 2006 bonding request, and is working with the Mayo Clinic on a proposed new genomics research center in Rochester, among other initiatives.
Finally, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Minneapolis-based law firm Lindquist and Vennum have published “A Guide to Biotechnology Finance,” a new booklet that discusses financing options available to biotech firms. You can request copies of the guide by calling DEED at 651-282-2103.