By
Susan Caba
Is it time for a third expansion of
the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET)?
If so, what form should it take—what proportion of wet lab space
to dry, what amenities should be included (a day care center?
Coffee shop?)—and how quickly should the growth take place?
These are some of the questions CET officials and consultants
hope to answer over the next several months, as they study the
potential demand for another 50,000—and possibly as much as
150,000—square feet of incubation space for start-up life science
and technology-related companies. The not-for-profit organization
will spend up to $300,000 in the next year, planning a phased
expansion.
“The year 2006 will show that we have achieved the status and
awareness that we are attracting businesses from other places,”
says William Simon, CET vice president and chief operating officer.
He notes that the center is attracting both local start-ups
and out-of-town biotech businesses.
“The local ones are in the earlier stages, and use our own ‘grow-your-own’
strengths, but the business in later stages from out-of-town
show the beginning of St. Louis being a destination with the
right physical and mental environment in which biotech businesses
can grow.”
Simon says there is little doubt that demand for space in the
incubator will require more than doubling the size of the facility,
particularly laboratory space, in three phases over the next
four to five years. Because of the scientific nature of the
required spaces, rehabbing existing buildings won’t be feasible.
New construction will require “tens of millions of dollars,”
he says, “maybe $20 million to $30 million.”
The center opened in 1998 as a partnership with University of
Missouri-St. Louis, the Missouri Department of Economic Development
and LCRA of the City of St. Louis, with the aim of providing
business, technical and physical support for life-science start-ups
in a 42,000-square-foot space. Almost immediately, it exceeded
expectations, attaining a positive cash flow and reaching physical
capacity in nine months. Tenants have created $710 million in
equity, says Simon, more than any other life sciences incubator.
It was named one of the top ten incubators in the country in
2003.
Just two years later, CET doubled its space with the purchase
and renovation of the historic Dorris Motor Car Building at
Sarah and Forest Park, which housed St. Louis’ first automobile
manufacturer. Renovation of the 1907 building for office incubator
space cost $8 million. It filled “instantly,” says Simon.
Stereotaxis, CET’s first tenant, “graduated to a new 50,000-square-foot
facility late last year. The company makes advanced surgical
equipment for life-saving cardiac procedures.
Since it opened, CET has been home to 17 companies. Given the
St. Louis region’s goal of increasing life-science start-ups,
Simon says CET needs space for at least 30 companies. The Association
of University Technology Transfer Managers estimates that every
$75 million invested in an area in research creates one new
start-up company. The University of Michigan, says Simon, is
about the same size as Washington University in St. Louis and
kicks out seven or eight new start-ups a year. St. Louis, he
adds is doing about a third of that, so there is potential for
great growth.
The St. Louis BioBelt region has nearly 400 plant and medical
sciences enterprises, with an annual direct and indirect economic
impact of $10.5 billion.
As CET contemplates expansion, it will be looking at the kinds
of facilities needed, says Simon. They will no doubt include
at least 50,000 square feet of laboratory space, especially
space suitable for early clinical trials and short-term production
runs done according to FDA best-practices standards. In addition,
consultants will assess the need for joint conference rooms,
high-speed telecommunications capabilities, office space and
amenities such as a day care center and other support facilities.
In addition to space, CET supports its tenants by helping with
business plans, market research, regulatory issues, and alliances
with business, research and marketing professionals.
Simon points to this year’s new tenants as evidence of increasing
demand for CET facilities. In the spring, Pepex Biomedical,
with venture capital funding from Florida, moved from California;
Somark Innovations, is a local company using Swedish technology
for tracking cattle with ceramic/magnetic ink tattoos; Medros
Inc., is a start-up by two Washington University researchers
who are developing a new technology to screen drugs for effectiveness
against diabetes and cancer; and Mobius Therapeutics is moving
from Atlanta, Ga., because the owner says the St. Louis business
climate is better.
Part of the study costs for assessing future CET needs comes
from an $88,000 grant to CET and to CORTEX, the developing business
corridor being developed to house established life-science enterprises
and graduates from CET. Each organization matched half the grant.
The on-going study will not only determine the need for space,
but also consider possibilities for paying for expansion.
For additional information on entrepreneurship and technology,
please visit the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association
(RCGA) website. http://www.gotostlouis.org/x416.xml
