Excerpted from Business Xpansion Journal
By Mark Kleszczewski

Despite high failure rates, difficulties in obtaining early-stage funding and rapidly-changing market dynamics, the U.S. bioscience and biopharma industries not only weathered the recession, but actually added jobs while other knowledge-based industries lost traction.

While well-established industry clusters, such as in Massachusetts and New Jersey, continue to lead the nation in research and development jobs, federal research funding and venture capital investment per capita, smaller biotech clusters are growing at faster rates as governments increasingly court the industry as an economic development engine.

Biotech is Still Big Business

According to the Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO), the industry accounted for more than 1.6 million jobs in 2010, spanning more than 70,000 individual business establishments and supporting an additional 3.4 million jobs throughout the remainder of the economy. The U.S. biopharmaceutical sector is especially robust, accounting for the single largest share of all U.S. business R&D and nearly 20 percent of all domestic R&D, according to the National Science Foundation.

Developing innovative medicines and therapies in the U.S. remains significant, with more than 300 new medicines approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the last decade, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Member companies spent an estimated $48.5 billion in 2012 to discover and develop new medicines with roughly 2,900 compounds currently being studied in the United States alone.

BIO also indicates the highly-skilled nature and demand for bioscience jobs supports a wage growth that well outpaces that of the private sector, increasing by 13.1 percent in real terms since 2001, compared with just 4.4 percent pay raises among all other industries.

Partnerships Lead to Profit

Gaining prominence on the national stage in recent years is Colorado, which has grown nearly 600 medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical and ag-bio companies into a thriving bioscience cluster.

“Colorado has seen some good growth over the last 10 years and the state’s put in infrastructure and grant programs over the last four to five years that have been really helpful in creating momentum for all of our advanced industries, including bioscience,” says April Giles, president and CEO, Colorado BioScience Association. “Over the last two years we’ve seen our medical device community grow in employment around 15 percent and the industry as a whole at 4.5 percent, with an uptick in biopharma, which has also been great.”

Moving to Wisconsin, life science entrepreneurs can tap into a thriving biotech cluster that features more than 640 bioscience businesses supporting nearly 24,000 private sector jobs with a total economic impact of close to $7 billion.

“It’s a pretty fertile area for the industry,” says Paul Jadin, president, Madison Region Economic Partnership. “When you look at employment, we’ve got about a 1.8 location quotient for jobs in areas such as biotech research and that’s growing annually. We’re now responding to demand for a second university research park to supplement our first one, which today has $800 million dollars invested in it, with 126 companies and 3,600 employees.”

Regional sector employment is balanced between leading companies such as Covance, Thermo Fisher Scientific and GE Healthcare, and smaller companies such as Exact Sciences, Lucigen and Quintessence Biosciences. Specialty companies like SHINE Medical Technologies and Northstar Medical Radioisotopes, says Jadin, have successfully transferred products from research to market, choosing to remain in the Madison region to build manufacturing facilities and create related jobs.

The region’s life sciences sector is driven largely by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which ranks fourth nationwide in federal research funds with more than $1 billion in expenditures, more than half of which is spent directly in ag and life sciences, Jadin notes.

Biosciences growth is also being fostered by local research, incubation and co-working spaces, such as University Research Park, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and T.E.C. Incubator Center and institutions such as BioForward, the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Read the full article.

MadREP, the economic development partnership for the eight-county Madison Region, announces Craig Kettleson as its Enterprise Development Director. Craig begins his post at MadREP on January 2, and will play a key role in implementing the organization’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship activities per the Advance Now Strategy.

About Craig Kettleson
For the last decade prior to joining MadREP, Craig served as VP of Finance, Principal, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, for U.S. Foods and Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (USFP), Eslabon Consulting and Investments, LLC and Woodridge Venture Group, LLC. Craig’s expertise with USFP centered on the fiscal side of the business, including: generation of historical and pro forma financial statements, business planning, development of private equity placement materials, and completion of due diligence with potential investors. The company has successfully raised $1.2MM to date. With Eslabon, Craig analyzed several real estate projects on behalf of a syndicate for potential acquisition and financial investment in the Madison market, as well as provided business planning assistance for a computer web portal business, incubator management services for the Portage Enterprise Center, and business retention and expansion services for the City of Waterloo. In 2003, Craig was a founder and CFO of a venture capital business (Woodridge) focused on providing investment resources and technical assistance to businesses seeking to commercialize early stage renewable technologies. During his tenure, the company raised over $14MM for equity placements in two start-up companies.

From 1998-2003, Craig served as Business Development Manager for the Wisconsin Business Innovation Corporation, marketing and implementing a $1.2MM Defense Conversion Loan Fund and a $2.7MM USDA Intermediary Relending Program Loan Fund, assisting in the development of a rural Enterprise Center Network, and assisting in the development and implementation of the Wisconsin Rural Enterprise Fund (a venture capital style funding tool for tech-led businesses in rural areas). Craig was also a Lead Planner for MSA Professional Services in Beaver Dam, WI, managing community and land use planning projects, creating 25 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts, and securing millions in business development and infrastructure grants from the federal and state government that ultimately led to company formations, expansions, private investment leverage and job creation. Craig was also a planner and business development specialist with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Development and Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission from 1988-1994.

Craig holds the American Institute of Certified Planner (AICP) title by the American Planning Association (APA). He is a GrowthWheel Certified Advisor® and was recently designated a certified Incubator manager by the National Business Incubation Association. He has a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in architecture and economics (UW-Milwaukee) and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning (UW-Madison). Craig was also a Board Member of the Wisconsin Business Incubator Association, formerly serving as their Treasurer and as Executive Committee Member.

Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Marcia Nelesen

Assistant City Manager Jay Winzenz isn’t prone to bouts of excitement.

But he slapped his hand on the conference table to emphasize a map outlining a proposal to move the Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds to the site of the shuttered GM plant.

John Beckord, president of Forward Janesville, is not one for drama.

But excitement crept into his voice, too, when Beckord listed—not once, but twice—the five redevelopment advantages of the 200-acre GM site.

The GM plant site has been in limbo for five years, languishing in standby status imposed by a nation labor contract between GM and the United Auto Workers that expires in 2015.

Now is the time to start talking with General Motors about the future of the company’s shuttered Janesville facility, said Jay Winzenz, assistant city manager.

The workforce is mostly gone. Workers transferred to other plants or took other jobs, he said.

Winzenz said he has talked to people who have indicated the UAW and General Motors might be willing to talk about disposition of the plant before 2015, when the national contract expires.

Winzenz is betting GM will sell or otherwise shed the property, leaving the city with an opportunity.

SITE AMENITIES

The city’s comprehensive plan labels the area as industrial but makes it clear it could easily accommodate different uses.

“We have 200 acres … more or less in the middle of the city that is a blank slate, or could be a blank slate,” Winzenz said.

The property has important amenities that industries want, Winzenz and Beckord said.
 
WHAT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE

Winzenz recently met with GM officials, who gave him and others a tour of the plant.

“I’m very optimistic, at this point, between now and the end of 2015 we’ll be able to work with General Motors, and the plan will be in place for disposal of the facility when the contract expires in 2015,” Winzenz said.

Beckord, too, said it is highly probable the site would be available for redevelopment after the national contract between GM and the UAW expires.

“That said, stranger things have happened, so one can’t count on that,” Beckord said.

“It’s also prudent to begin the process of envisioning what might be possible with that asset,” he said.

Beckord noted the site’s amenities, which would attract certain kinds of industries, including food processors.

He said there’s enough room for both the fairgrounds and industry.

Any effort would mean private and public partnerships, including the city, county and a redevelopment entity with experience in large-scale reuse.

Winzenz said now is the time to begin a community discussion on what it would like to create on its blank slate.

“How many opportunities do you have to redevelop either 100 or 200 acres in the middle of your community?” Winzenz asked.

“I think it’s a process we need to start.”

Read the full article.

Press Release: December 16, 2013

Xconomy today announces the debut of Xconomy Wisconsin. The most recent location in its fast-growing national high-tech news network, it represents the third new Xconomy bureau to open in 2013 and the ninth throughout the US.

Keeping with Xconomy’s mission to be the authoritative voice on the exponential economy, coverage focuses on Wisconsin’s developing high-tech sectors. These include life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing, water, and energy.

“Wisconsin has been on the Top 10 list of places we wanted a bureau since launching Xconomy in 2007,” says Xconomy CEO and Editor in Chief Bob Buderi. “It’s a region in the midst of a high-technology surge, and we’ve received enthusiastic support from a number of companies and organizations in the Wisconsin innovation community, many of whom already were readers.”

Well-known Wisconsin business reporter Jeff Engel will head up Xconomy Wisconsin. Previously, Engel served as the manufacturing/technology reporter at The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee. Earlier in his career, he was the business and health care reporter for the Marshfield News-Herald in central Wisconsin. Engel’s experience will allow him to bring thoughtful coverage to the Xconomy audience.

“Although Wisconsin isn’t usually mentioned in the same breath as startup hubs on the coasts, there is so much innovation here that deserves a spotlight,” says Engel. “I’m excited to share those stories with Xconomy readers.”

Xconomy launches Xconomy Wisconsin with underwriting support from American Family Insurance, Arrowhead Research Corporation, BioForward, Exact Sciences Corporation, Flying Car, presented by the Greater Milwaukee Committee, gener8tor, Madison Gas and Electric, Madison Region Economic Partnership, The Water Council, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, as well as assistance from venture capital member 4490 Ventures.

“As Wisconsin’s lead economic development agency, WEDC is pleased to welcome Xconomy to our state,” said Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of the WEDC. “When you look at the other cities around the nation where Xconomy has a presence, Xconomy’s decision to launch its next site in Madison/Milwaukee says a lot about the region’s innovative and vibrant business climate.”

Readers can find coverage from Xconomy Wisconsin at www.xconomy.com/wisconsin.

About Xconomy:
Xconomy is the premier news and events organization dedicated to providing information and insight about the business of technology. Xconomy is staffed by world-class journalists and supported by “the Xconomists,” who include more than 300 of the country’s leading innovators. Based in Cambridge, MA, Xconomy covers the Boston, Boulder/Denver, Detroit, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Texas, and Wisconsin markets.

Contact: Samantha Lam, Marketing & Events Coordinator, Xconomy
(617) 252-0700 | slam@xconomy.com

Excerpted from xconomy.com
By Robert Buderi

There are no flyover zones in the United States. That’s the way Xconomy views the map, anyway, because we see innovation happening all over America.

So it is with great pleasure that today we are launching Xconomy Wisconsin, the ninth hub in our growing national network. It is our third launch this year—after Boulder-Denver and Texas—and another opportunity for us to make good on our promise to cover innovation where it happens.

We’ve met with a tremendous reception, both in Madison, the state capital, and Milwaukee, the largest city. In both places, we’ve not only been welcomed incredibly warmly, we’ve found an unusual spirit of collaboration, and many, many stories of innovation that we can’t wait to start telling—in life sciences, health IT, advanced manufacturing, water technology, consumer tech, energy, and much more.

Our initial stories are already live. First out of the blocks is a welcome piece by the editor of Xconomy Wisconsin, Jeff Engel, who shares his thoughts about the state’s innovation scene, and his plans for coverage—and why the real story of Wisconsin isn’t a bunch of cheese heads drinking beer.

We are extremely pleased to have Jeff on the team. Everywhere we went, whether in Milwaukee or Madison, his name kept cropping up as a top young tech writer. And as he went to work preparing for today’s launch it quickly became clear that he’s also got that rare combination of energy, enthusiasm, and poise that’s vital to a startup such as Xconomy.

Jeff will need that energy, as he will be dividing his time between his home base of Milwaukee and Madison (thanks to space in both cities provided by gener8tor), while also traveling around the state to unearth stories of innovation—all the while asking the tough questions about what might not be working as well as it should, and what else needs to be done. And editors from around our network will be contributing to Xconomy Wisconsin as well, sharing their expertise and exploring themes that cut across geographic boundaries.

Along the way, many others have helped us as well—too many to name. We are tremendously grateful to all, especially those who supported us as early underwriters and partners, because without them our launch would not have been possible. These are companies and organizations that believe in our brand of independent, quality journalism—and who often lead the way as innovators themselves, or in supporting the cause of innovation, or both. They all deserve a special plaudit for supporting us from day one:

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; American Family Insurance; Arrowhead Research; and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; BioForward; Exact Sciences; Flying Car, presented by the Greater Milwaukee Committee; gener8tor; Madison Region Economic Partnership; Madison Gas and Electric; The Water Council; and 4490 Ventures.

Read the full article.

MadREP is proud to sponsor the launch of Xconomy Wisconsin.