Florida’s biotechnology industry continues to boom amid new research discoveries, rounds of funding and collaborative work traversing across the state. Now, Alachua is ready to celebrate its contributions.
The 10th Annual Celebration of Biotechnology will be held at RTI Biologics in Progress Corporate Park, a 204-acre park home to 30 biotechnology companies, on May 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The free event will feature more than 70 scientific and sector-related vendors, an expanded bus tour of the park and a brief program to highlight the successes of the local biotechnology industry over the past year.
The University of Florida’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, located in the park, was awarded the Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year for overall excellence, beating out internationally recognized incubators twice its size such as the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
Another success story from the past year is Nanotherapeutics’ contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. The privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Progress Corporate Park was awarded $135 million to develop manufacturing processes for drugs to treat bioterrorism and radiological threats. The company is now expanding to space adjacent to the park.
Jim Talton, CEO of Nanotherapeutics, will discuss the contact and its local impacts during the scheduled program.
RTI Biologics is also growing its presence in the area with a 41,165-square-foot Logistics and Technology Center that is expected to open in early 2014.
For more information on the event, visit bioflorida.com.
