By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Developing the region's biotechnology industry was the focus of a day-long seminar held in Cheektowaga Wednesday. UB's School of Management hosted "Bio Buffalo 2004."
The symposium examined business opportunities and economic growth as Buffalo Niagara's biotech industry develops. Bufflink CEO Alan Olhoeft says the challenge is to figure out how to gain public and private sector funding in order to advance and create more start up biotech companies.
"The next thing we have to do is build a more vibrant commercialization environment," Olhoeft said. "We need to create facilities, such as incubators, that are ready to support start-up companies. They need to be close to the Medical Campus and ready to provide more business services to these start-up companies at a more aggressive rate than we have now."
An organization that provides business assistance to start-up biotech companies is working toward new growth. Jack McGowan is the professional business advisor for the Western New York Technology Development Center. McGowan says convincing investors to take a risk on the local bio-tech industry is the biggest challenge they face right now.
"This is an industry that takes many years and many dollars to go from the lab to commercial market place," McGowan said. "We really need to remain patient and take a longer term view."
McGowan says it will probably take about 10 years before Buffalo reaps the rewards from biotech investments. But Dean of UB's School of Management, John Thomas, says he's certain this region has the "potential" to become a leader in the biotech industry.
"I also think we have an enormous resource in the health sciences at UB which we could really begin to tap into," Thomas said.
Leaders of the local biotech industry say in order for it to be successful there must be cooperation, investment and collaboration between researchers, businesses and government.