Businesses focus on A&M partnerships
BYLINE: April Avison, The Eagle, Bryan, Texas
Nov. 30--The future of economic development is in medical research, and the local community is at the forefront, an economist told businesspeople and elected officials Wednesday.
Ray Perryman, a former economics professor at Baylor and Southern Methodist universities, is now a touring speaker and author who has worked with the U.S. Congress and Texas Legislature. He was the featured speaker Wednesday at the "State of the Research Valley" luncheon at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
The Research Valley -- Bryan, College Station and some surrounding counties -- is making strides in health science and biotechnology, Perryman said.
It's key for the business community to partner with Texas A&M University to capitalize on the opportunities, he said.
"You have an enormous advantage here," Perryman said. "There are a lot of things developing here that are moving forward. You have the research facilities and the graduates this university turns out. You're developing the infrastructure. There's a need to keep the momentum going."
Earlier this year, the Texas A&M University System entered a partnership with Houston-area biopharmaceutical company Lexicon Genetics to create the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, also known as TIGM. The state is investing $50 million in the project -- the largest grant ever issued from Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund.
The local economic development corporation, the Research Valley Partnership, offered a $250,000 low-interest loan to help start the institute, and has sent out marketing literature across the country on behalf of TIGM.
Such partnerships show leadership and vision in the Research Valley, Perryman said.
"If someone says, 'We're going to put an auto plant here,' that's easy. We've seen those; we know what they do," he said. "What we're talking about here is things that are catalysts for other things. It's a little more difficult to get your arms around. It takes some vision."
The Texas A&M System also is considering plans for a multimillion-dollar institute of preclinical studies on the College Station campus. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the project in January, said Terry Fossum, a professor of veterinary medicine who is spearheading the effort.
If approved by the regents, those working at the institute would research products seeking FDA approval, Fossum said.
As the baby boom generation gets older and requires more health care, such research facilities will spin off more medical-related businesses and jobs in the Bryan-College Station area, Perryman said.
"This area is a sleeping giant," he said. "What's been happening the last three or four years is you've been waking that giant up to make a world-class technology center. We're talking about things that save people's lives. The demand is there. Somebody's going to do this, and there's every reason to think it could be this area."
Todd McDaniel, who became president and CEO of the Research Valley Partnership about a year ago, said ideas are under way for workforce development, business incubators and strategic planning to create jobs that will keep Texas A&M students in the area after they graduate.
A major step was taken earlier this year when the RVP moved its offices to Texas A&M's Research Park, McDaniel said.
"We realized we needed to be in close partnership with the university," he said. "We have A&M folks in our offices every day now. We're connected."
The chairman-elect of the Research Valley Partnership's board of directors is Harold Strong, director of the university's Research Park.
Strong said Wednesday collaboration is key as business leaders plan for the future.
"The RVP has volunteered to participate in some of the university projects," he said. "We're also working with them because if someone wants to locate in Research Park, they have to have a commitment to research. If they don't fit with us, the RVP can find them a place where they do fit."
Mitch Morehead, chairman of the RVP's board of directors, said he's excited about the focus on university projects.
"This is truly an exciting time," he said. "We've aligned ourselves with a new location and new leadership. I can tell you, things are going to happen."
--April Avison's e-mail address is april.avison@theeagle.com.
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