Biotech association to get its own office: State trade group moving to Madison research park

Jan. 25--In a move that symbolizes the growth of its industry in the state, a Wisconsin biotechnology association will leave its space in a Madison law firm for its own offices.

The Wisconsin Biotech and Medical Device Association will move next week into an office at University Research Park in Madison, said James Leonhart, executive vice president of the trade group.

"We've just reached a point where certainly our board wanted us to have our own shingle -- to be more recognized," Leonhart said.

"It's a sign we're old enough to fly on our own," said Dan Broderick, managing director at St. Louis-based Prolog Ventures and the association's past president.

The move gives the association more ability to staff appropriately, develop its own culture and set its own human resources policies, Broderick said.

The Wisconsin Biotech Association started in 1987 and in 2001 put out a call to find a new executive team. The Madison law firm DeWitt Ross & Stevens won the contract to house it and provide office support services, and put Leonhart in charge. The association merged in 2004 with the Wisconsin Association of Medical Manufacturers.

The association has 225 mostly corporate members, up from 46 in 2001, Leonhart said. It will have three full-time employees after a search for a director of operations and administrative assistant. Most of the association's funding comes from membership fees and fund raising through conferences, workshops and seminars, he said.

Its purchasing consortium has negotiated 15 contracts -- the biggest ones with Fisher Scientific, OfficeMax Inc. and Airgas Inc. -- that have saved members an estimated $2 million a year, he said. The organization had three such contracts in 2001, he said.

The association runs networking breakfasts in Milwaukee and Madison, workshops and seminars on requested topics, an annual conference, and collaborations with organizations such as Madison Area Technical College for work force development and training. It does lobbying for industry issues on the state and federal levels and plans to roll out a group health care plan this year, Leonhart said.

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