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Research opportunities hold promise for state economy

Research opportunities hold promise for state economy

Original at Greenville News

By John Kelly and Karl Kelly

Recently, Clemson University and Greenwood Genetic Center leaders signed an agreement to expand research and graduate education in human genetics through the Genetics Collaborative. This partnership holds tremendous promise to generate better health for both citizens and the economy in South Carolina.

Our state faces a unique global market challenge, which will mean either expansion in the new, technology-based economy or continued job losses in the traditional manufacturing sector, according to the Palmetto Institute and the S.C. Council on Competitiveness. These organizations have set a goal to develop technology-based industry clusters in our state so we can compete in a global economy and increase the per capita income of our citizens.

We believe that the Genetics Collaborative advances this goal. Commercialization of life science research could bring millions of dollars to South Carolina in new research and production facilities, as well as create high-paying jobs for research scientists, laboratory technicians and other skilled employees.

This year alone, 12 major biotechnology companies have visited South Carolina at the request of SC Bio, the state's biotechnology incubator. They came to consider locating research and manufacturing facilities here or to assist emerging life science companies, which will drive new technology development and job creation. Also on the drawing board is a research park adjacent to the Greenwood Genetic Center. More than 165 acres have been earmarked to accommodate life science companies at the research park, with the potential of up to 1,500 new jobs at this location alone.

Life-science companies offer tremendous potential to create jobs not only in Greenwood but across the entire state and to energize not only the biomedical industry but all economic sectors -- including agriculture, forestry, textiles and chemicals. The Genetics Collaborative is a significant step toward making this potential a reality. The goal of the collaborative is to harness the power of genetic discoveries in humans, plants and animals and use that knowledge to improve the health of our citizens and to create new technology-based industries.

The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, identified more than 20,000 genes and sequenced some 3 billion individual components of DNA that make up those genes. Now, the search is on to determine how all these components function and how they affect health and disease.

Clemson University, the Greenwood Genetic Center and their research partners are at the forefront of this search, exploring how human genetics and nutrition interact to prevent or treat disease. Discoveries that come from this partnership could lead to new technologies that reduce susceptibility to birth defects, premature births, mental retardation, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. These conditions affect citizens in South Carolina at a disproportionately higher rate than other states, exacting a high toll on both the state's physical and economic well-being.

Research by the Genetics Collaborative will explore ways to prevent or treat these and other health problems. And the discoveries that will emerge from this research hold the promise of a new genetics and biotechnology industry in South Carolina that will fuel real job growth for our state. More than 60 percent of the biotechnology jobs in North Carolina and Maryland came from new companies that were formed by state-supported commercialization programs. Such programs assist scientists in finding experienced company leadership, securing seed money and understanding the entrepreneurial model.

In the next five years, the U.S. Small Business Administration predicts that 20 percent of all new jobs will be created by companies that do not exist today. South Carolina must compete effectively for these companies, not only with foreign countries but also with our neighboring states. SC Bio will work closely with scientists in the Genetics Collaborative to ensure that the technology created in South Carolina stays in South Carolina.

In the late 1800s, Thomas Green Clemson had a vision to generate knowledge and to transfer new technologies to benefit South Carolina's citizens. Today, the university that bears his name is continuing that vision by joining forces with the Greenwood Genetic Center and SC Bio. This partnership will develop new knowledge and new technologies in human genetics that can create new companies and new, high-paying jobs for South Carolinians.