UF's Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator companies show $753 million impact for 2004-2010

September 29, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator program, which fosters the growth of startup bioscience companies with ties to UF, has released a study showing that over the last seven years its companies and graduates had a total economic impact on Alachua County of $753 million.

The $753 million is the result of total output, which includes value added to the local economy, labor income and all output factors — the total economic impact of the incubator companies’ economic activities. Sid Martin Biotechnology graduate companies that relocated outside the county were not included. The study also didn’t include portions of companies located elsewhere when a company had multiple locations such as Boston and Alachua.

David L. Day, director of the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator and UF’s Office of Technology Licensing, said, “The Sid Martin Biotech Incubator opened 16 years ago this month and it’s exciting to see it mature with an annual local economic impact of more than $100 million.”

The bioscience industry is made up mostly of small bioscience companies developing their first products, and they are heavily reliant on investor capital, grants, contracts and partnerships with larger biotech or pharmaceutical companies. During the 2004 to 2010 period, Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator companies had $426 million in revenues and investment. Total employment impact in Alachua County, which includes indirect jobs created, was 1,467.

The report was prepared by economic development consultant Rhonda Phillips. Only employment, investments and revenues directly attributable to the companies’ Alachua County operations were counted.

Patti Breedlove, associate director of the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator, said, “The good news continues into 2011. So far this year AxoGen Inc. has signed a merger agreement that will make it a public company; Pasteuria Bioscience has signed a partnership with Syngenta, the largest agri-business in the world, to commercialize its products; and our graduate EraGen BioSciences, which is now in Wisconsin, was acquired for $34 million. It’s been an unprecedented year for us.”

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua is home to one of the most experienced and fully equipped bioscience incubation programs in the U.S. Business development support services and assistance with access to seed stage venture capital is combined with specialized infrastructure including wet labs, greenhouses, fermentation facilities, and common use scientific equipment.