Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator

Infobox_University


name = Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator
established = 1990
type =
dean = Director David L. Day
city = Florida
country = USA
students =
campus =
website= [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/ Official website]

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator is a facility at the University of Florida thats mission is to meld the latest in research innovation with the marketplace. The Incubator works in all areas research relating to the life sciences, biomedical research, medicine, and chemical sciences. [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/aboutus/aboutus.html]

History

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Institute (BDI) was officially founded on July 2, 1990 by the Florida Legislature and was named after a member in the Florida House of Representatives named Sid Martin in recognition of his commitment to the state of Florida and the University of Florida. In 1994, the Trustees at the University of Florida authorized convert|6|acre|m2 to build the Sid Martin Biotechnology incubator. [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/aboutus/history.html]

The Incubator is now convert|40000|sqft|m2 and was built with a combination of funding from the University of Florida, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Florida Legislature. Overall the facility was created, engineered, equipped, and opened in 1995 as one of the first bio-business incubators in the United States. The overall cost at that time was $11.5 million. The Incubator is currently located in the Progress Corporate Park outside of Gainesville, Florida. Overall this research park was built by the vision of former University of Florida President Robert Q. Marston. [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/aboutus/history.html]

Graduate Companies

Several biotechnology startups have occupied space in the BDI and then went on to become successful independent companies. This includes [http://agtc.com/ Applied Genetic Technologies Corp] , BioMed Immnunotech, Inc., [http://www.cygenelabs.com/ Cygene Labs] , [http://www.ecoarray.com/ EcoArray Inc.] , [http://encorbio.com/ EnCor Biotechnology Inc.] , [http://www.eragen.com/ Eragen Biosciences Inc.] , [http://www.morphogenesis-inc.com/ Morphogenesis Inc.] , [http://www.nanotherapeutics.com/ Nanotherapeutics Inc.] , [http://www.oragenics.com/ Oragenics Inc.] , [http://www.oxthera.com/ Oxthera Inc.] and [http://www.verenium.com/ Verenium Corp.] . Two further BDI companies, SunPharm Inc. and Universal Air Technologies Inc. were acquired by larger companies.

International Recognition

In an international contest, the University of Florida’s biotechnology business incubator was named the second best of its kind for 2007. The incubator assists newly created life science companies by providing physical space, equipment, logistical guidance and connections with prospective investors. [http://news.ufl.edu/2007/04/04/incubator-honor/]

External links

* [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/29/Business/University_of_Florida.shtml "St. Pete Times" Article about facility]
* [http://www.bioregionnews.com/issues/1_33/features/143882-1.html Bio-regional news about facility]
* [http://www.businessfacilities.com/bf_06_11_cover.php Business Facilities profile]
* [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/news/WinPhillips_2Nov07.pdf VP of Research gives statement]
* [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/news/MITCaltech_Gators_21May07.pdf UF, MIT, and Caltech info]
* [http://news.ufl.edu/2007/04/04/incubator-honor/ Incubator Honor]
* [http://www.biotech.ufl.org/news/UnivFlorida_MilkenInstit.pdf University of Florida press release]
* [http://research.ufl.edu/otl/pdf/OTL_techconnectupdate/feb_08/Milken_Institute_ranks_UF_Top_Public_University_In_Tech_Transfer.pdf Bio-technology news]
* [http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/publications.taf?function=detail&ID=576&cat=ResRep Milken publications]
* [http://news.ufl.edu/2006/09/20/milken/ UF News about Milken]
* [http://news.ufl.edu/2007/04/04/incubator-honor/ UF business incubator recognized internationally]