“Biotech business isn’t taking root” (May 31) was a wakeup call regarding the health of the biotech industry in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Agriculture is to be commended for commissioning the study that was the basis for the article, suggesting that opportunities for fostering growth of the industry are going unanswered. All of the issues outlined in the article–prime among them being a dearth of venture capital–are indeed cause for concern. But the biotech picture in Illinois is not entirely bleak.
Consider the Chicago Technology Park. Affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago, the park is a biotech incubator responsible for launching firms like MediChem Research Inc. In 1987, MediChem had a staff of two. Today it has a staff of nearly 100, including almost 80 scientists, doing custom organic synthesis to develop therapeutic treatments for cancer, AIDS, hepatitis B and more. The company’s projected revenues for 1998 are $8 million. None of this would be possible without the state’s support through the Chicago Technology Park.
What’s more, the Illinois biotech industry also benefits from the Illinois Coalition, a non-profit organization formed in 1989 by members of industry, labor, research and state and federal government to strengthen Illinois’ economy through science and technology. It works with Illinois research universities and federal laboratories to maintain the health and vitality of their research programs; develops policies and programs that result in the development and commercialization of new technologies and in the creation and growth of technology enterprises; and markets Illinois as a science and technology leader.
Then there is Argonne National Laboratory. Rather than operating with an “ivory tower” mentality, Argonne scientists are engaged in practical research with commercial implications. Argonne and MediChem Research are engaged in a joint effort to develop therapeutic drugs that battle Alzheimer’s disease.
While it is time to launch a concentrated effort to bolster Illinois’ biotech industry, let’s not lose sight of what is working.
