Found at: http://www.competitiveness.org/article/articleprint/571/-1/8/

University of Maryland awarded Sloan Foundation Center in Biotechnology

The University of Maryland has been selected to establish the new prestigious Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center, a home for high-impact research on the forces driving the competitiveness of the U.S. biotechnology industry. A substantial start-up grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will help fund this work which is expected to aid the industry to continue developing and increase its overall turnover.

The Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center shall join an elite group of university-based research facilities, each focusing on a critical U.S. industrial sector. The centre shall be based in a highly active biotechnology cluster that includes such major industry players as the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and national labs, as well as the Biotechnology Industry Organization association and many of these companies shall be closely involved at all stages of the research.

"We intend to make this centre the source for independent, definitive research on biotechnology industry competitiveness," says director Jacques Gansler, who also serves as the University of Maryland vice president for research. "There's a critical need to identify opportunities and strategies that can give biotechnology companies a competitive advantage. We're uniquely positioned to address these questions being situated and involved in such a prominent biotechnology cluster."

In the research world, the Sloan centres enjoy a remarkable reputation for research that has helped stimulate numerous targeted industries and increase their turnover by millions of dollars. The centres apply a unique approach in which highly trained, interdisciplinary teams work closely with companies to observe and collect data and develop solutions to industry challenges.

The researchers shall begin their studies this summer, working closely with leading national and many international biotechnology companies. The research agenda shall focus on five critical aspects of industry operations:

• the length of time involved in developing products
• uncertainties facing start-ups
• external industry-wide influences such as regulation and public policy
• the benefits of being situated in clusters
• and the economics of the industry as a whole

"Our challenge is to better understand the intricate web of factors that contribute to the biotechnology industry's success and those that hold it back," says Shawn Lofstrom, the center's associate director for research. "That's no easy task. Biotech represents an incredibly complex interaction among investors, regulators, researchers, engineers and related industries."

The Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center shall be housed at the Maryland School of Public Policy's Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise.

Although the Sloan Biotechnology Center is being welcomed with open arms there are still some who believe that much is needed to improve the biotechnology industry in the state of Maryland. This was discussed at a conference on "Building on the Foundation" 24 May, which was attended by some 200 business, science and government leaders and sponsored by, among others, the Tech Council of Maryland, Maryland Chamber of Commerce, state Department of Business and Economic Development and University of Maryland. It is felt that the industry is lacking an effective strategy which will help it compete with other states strong in biotechnology. For more in depth information on the outcomes of this conference read the article Biotech needs strategy.

For more information on the Sloan Biotechnology Center research visit the University of Maryland