Colorado Prepares Biotech Strategy

Earlier this week, Colorado Chief Technology Officer John Hansen released a statewide plan to develop biotechnology and life sciences industry sectors in Colorado. Colorado's Place in the Sun: A Bioscience Future provides analysis, direction and recommended actions for three key sector areas — workforce development, business development, and research development.

After outlining the state's current strengths in biotech and life sciences, the plan identifies several key factors for success:

• "engaged research organizations with active leadership across research, technology commercialization, and industry partnerships
• "intensive networking across sectors and with industry
• "available indigenous capital covering all stages of the business cycle
• "discretionary federal or other R&D funding support
• "workforce and talent pool on which to build and sustain efforts
• "access to specialized facilities and equipment
• "stable and supportive business, tax, and regulatory policies
• "patience and a long-term perspective."

Some of the plan's primary recommendations include:

• creating a biotechnology seed fund to fill current financing gaps that are limiting the creation and growth of new companies;
• supporting industry growth through economic development programs, tax credits and other incentives;
• implementing a communications plan to position Colorado as a national leader in biosciences;
• building and strengthening the technology transfer/commercialization capacity of Colorado's research institutions; and,
• focusing and coordinating all biotechnology-related efforts by creating a state-level biotechnology director and an industry support association.

Funding for the $184,000 plan, developed by the Battelle Memorial Institute, came mostly from major corporate donors IBM and Amgen. Other sponsors include the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Institute of Technology, and the State Economic Development Commission.

The plan is available at http://www.cobiotech.com