D.C. region on edge of biotech billions

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Loudoun County is not known throughout the global scientific community as a hotbed for biotechnology research. Yet.

But it will be when Janelia Farm — a $500 million, 689-acre state-of-the-art research campus — opens in October.

The facility will be dedicated to the study of fundamental biological questions that could lead to cures for some of the world’s most challenging diseases.

“They’ve never created an intellectual powerhouse like this before,” said Larry Rosenstrauch, director of economic development for Loudoun County. “It’s like having a cross between Harvard Medical School and an MIT. If somebody were to plot a line between MIT and Harvard with those smart people, what kind of impact do you think it will have? It will be huge.”

Janelia Farm, which was conceptualized and funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, headquartered in Chevy Chase, will bring 300 scientists from around the world to Northern Virginia, all looking for breakthroughs in the multi-billion-dollar biotech industry.

The arrival of Janelia Farm, in addition to the region’s already strong research and development infrastructure, more working scientists than anywhere else in the country, and millions of federal, state and private dollars being pumped into the growing industry, puts Washington in a position to become a leader in the biotechnology race.

Biotechnology companies apply the study of genetic and biological processes to develop commercial products and services. For example, multiple drug treatments and medical devices that grew out of biotech research are already on the market, and hundreds more are in clinical trials.

At Janelia Farm, scientists will focus on two main areas of biomedical research: examining how information is processed by neuronal circuits, which is essentially the study of how the brain interacts with the body; and the development of imaging technologies and computational methods for image analysis.

Combining the two would allow scientists to study human functions using cutting-edge computer analysis, said Gerald Rubin, vice president and director of Janelia Farm, and could one day lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Biotechnology is hot right now not only because it might hold the key to eradicating disease, but also because it holds the promise of hundreds of billions of dollars in profits, and that has every region in the U.S. jockeying for the top spot.

“We believe this is a high-growth industry,” said Steven Pedigo, research manager with the Greater Washington Initiative, an organization that markets the region to biotech companies.

In fact, the industry already has grown significantly in the Washington area in the past 25 years and impacted the local economy.

Today, the region is home to 83 biotechnology companies, up from just 13 in 1980.

Between 1990 and 1999, Washington secured more than 2,000 biotech-related patents — a popular benchmark for judging an industry’s commercial viability. That figure is nearly five times that of the previous decade.

Though the region competes with other major bioscience regions — such as leaders Boston and San Francisco — for federal research funds, many of the dollars do make their way to Washington-area laboratories.

And with the addition of Janelia Farm, the Washington region is set to capture an even bigger share of the bioscience industry.

“It’s the single-largest science investment of the decade and it will probably have the most impact for [Virginia] maybe for decades to come,” Rosenstrauch said. “We have to recognize this is a global asset that has landed in our region and we have to try and use it.”

How does Washington compare to other top biotechnology clusters in the U.S.?

Here are a few regions of the country with recognized biotech industries:

Washington

Number of biotech companies: 83

Venture capital investments (1995-2001): $85 million

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-’99): 2,753

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $678,905

Philadelphia

Number of biotech companies: 46

Venture capital investments in biopharmaceuticals (1995-2001): $458 million

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-’99): 5,202

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $432,414

Raleigh, N.C.

Number of biotech companies: 72

Venture capital investments in biopharmaceuticals (1995-2001): $380 million

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-’99): 1,027

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $440,954

New York

Number of biotech companies: 127

Venture capital investments in biopharmaceuticals (1995-2001): $639 million

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-’99): 11,810

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $763,492

Boston

Number of biotech companies: 141

Venture capital investments in biopharmaceuticals (1995-2001): $1.915 billion

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-’99): 3,725

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $499,825

San Francisco

Number of biotech companies: 152

Venture capital investments in biopharmaceuticals (1995-2001): $3 billion

Biotechnology-related patents (1975-1999): 5,578

NIH funding for local medical schools (2000): $473,463

Source: “Signs of Life: The Growth of Biotechnology Centers in the U.S.” Report from The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy

kwilmeth@dcexaminer.com

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