March 2005

Biotechnology Panel

In a paper on “The Economic Impact of Biotechnology,” economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that many believe that biotechnology will change our world as much as the steam engine, electricity, and the microchip changed the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Indeed, some have labeled this the “Biological Century” and expect changes more momentous than from electricity and computers.

What does that mean for you? For Delaware and its economy? The Federal Reserve economists also noted that, historically, the combination of groundbreaking discoveries and subsequent commercialization has preceded periods of prolonged economic expansion.

We may still be in the period of benchmark discoveries and the early phase of commercial innovations; however, we're beginning to see economic rewards. And Delaware is well positioned.

Business Facilities's November 2004 edition noted that biotechnology is one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy and reported on the Battelle study that ranked Delaware the Number 1 All-Around Leader in biotechnology locations. Delaware is the only state to have a specialization in all four bioscience subsectors: agriculture feedstock and chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, and research and testing. Adding to its strength, Delaware has the highest concentration of bioscience employment, major anchor bioscience companies, and a strategic location in the Mid-Atlantic biopharmaceutical cluster.

Judy McKinney Cherry, Director, Delaware Economic Development Office; Glenn J. Gormley, Vice President of Clinical Development for AstraZeneca in the U.S.; and T. Ben Hsu, Vice President, Finance & Control, Quest Pharmaceutical Services, will tell Delaware's biotechnology story. Judy will tell us what the State is doing to support and attract this important cluster. Dr. Gormley will give the view from one of Delaware's largest biotech companies, and Dr. Hsu will share the story of one of Delaware's fast-growing smaller biotech companies. Come see the future.

Beverley Baxter