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Experts meet to discuss S.C.s future in biotechnology

Submitted by: John Warner on Mar 15, 2003 at 6:00 am Tagged with: General Archives Source:

Swamp Fox

Experts meet to discuss S.C.'s future in biotechnology
By JOE GUY COLLIER
Staff Writer
Charleston -- South Carolina needs to bolster university research, develop a
strong base of technical workers and be ready to put up money if it wants to
foster biotechnology companies, industry leaders say.
About 250 economic developers from around the state gathered Thursday and
Friday for the Palmetto Biotech Initiative to find out what South Carolina can
do to encourage the growth of biotechnology. The conference was organized by
the S.C. Biotechnology Incubation Program and the state Commerce Department.
Biotechnology companies use advanced biology to create products such as medical
treatments and stronger strains of crops. Biotechnology has become one of the
most sought-after fields of industry, with estimated revenues last year of
almost $30 billion in the United States.
South Carolina must come up with a strategic plan and execute that plan to
become a center for biotechnology companies, state Commerce Secretary Bob Faith
said.
"We recognize it is going to be very competitive to grow our biotech industry
in the state," Faith said. "Cheap land and cheap labor isn't going to get it
done."
South Carolina won't be alone in trying to land biotechnology companies. The
state has some existing biotechnology facilities, such as a Roche
pharmaceutical plant in Florence and a biotechnology incubator in Greenwood.
But more than 40 states have biotechnology initiatives aimed at making them
sites for expansions and relocations of biotechnology companies.
North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham area has become one of the major hotbeds for
biotechnology. Since 1991, more than 45 biotechnology companies have been
started in the area, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.
North Carolina has benefited from university research, said Charles Hamner,
retired director of the N.C. Biotechnology Center. Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and
North Carolina State have strong research programs.
The state also has been able to supply technical workers from its two-year
colleges and had the foresight to plan for biotechnology before most regions,
Hamner said.
"The reason North Carolina has been so successful is that we always put in the
right program five years ahead of time," he said.
Despite the slow start, states like South Carolina can compete for
biotechnology firms, said Ernest Kelly, senior vice president for New
Jersey-based Bio-Technology General Corp. Kelly's firm develops pain treatments.
Research and a skilled work force will help, Kelly said. The state also needs
economic incentives specifically for biotechnology firms, he said.
Other states give tax breaks to biotechnology firms, which might not employ
large numbers of workers, but can pay high salaries.
"The state has to take some shared risks and put money behind opportunities,"
Kelly said.
South Carolina needs to invest in biotechnology programs, but it has assets to
work with, said Karl Kelly, chief executive officer of the S.C. Biotechnology
Incubation Program. Clusters of biotechnology firms could be built around the
state's research universities, he said.
"We have all the building blocks required to build these companies," Kelly
said. "We have the nucleus in South Carolina."