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This month's
St. Louis Commerce Magazine focuses on two of our region's
most promising industry clusters; namely, the BioBelt (prospects
of the plant and medical sciences) and secondly, the so called
Ôbig ideaÕ which links St. Louis' Transportation
and Distribution cluster with China, the fastest growing economy
in the world.
Under the
leadership of U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill,
a remarkable opportunity is emerging with China. It builds on
the historic strengths of the region as a transportation and distribution
center, and the recent enhancements to our transportation infrastructure,
including the expansion of Lambert International Airport and the
building of MidAmerica Airport.
The opportunity to link with China also relies on the continuing strength of shipping on the waterways (with the nationÕs second largest inland port located in St. Louis) and shipping by rail at the geographic center of the country. Shipping by tractor-trailer also plays a distinct role with St. Louis located at the intersection of four interstates.
The plan to
link the region with ChinaÕs growing economy began its
current momentum with a several day visit to St. Louis by Chinese
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong and his delegation in February,
hosted by Senators Bond and McCaskill along with the RCGA. It
continued with a weeklong delegation led by our two senators,
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay,
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, along with a
number of other business and civic leaders, to Beijing in late
March.
Since we returned
from Beijing, we have had visits to St. Louis by Li Zhaoxing,
former Minister of Foreign Affairs, current Chairman, Foreign
Affairs Committee of PRC and Vice Premier Wang Qishan.
St. Louis visits by such high-ranking leaders from China, since
our Beijing trip, underscore the seriousness with which the "St.
Louis Big Idea" is being taken.
Regarding
the BioBelt plant and medical sciences cluster, much progress
has been made since this cluster was originally identified back
in 2000. This month's Commerce Magazine is once again extending
its reach with special distribution to the 20,000 attendees at
the annual Biotechnology Industry Organization annual session
held this year in San Diego June 17th - 20th.
The Missouri Biotechnology Association, the Illinois Biotechnology Association and the RCGA are again collaborating to showcase the outstanding biotechnology assets that are represented in our two states, and in particular the bi-state St. Louis region. Nearly 400 plant and life sciences enterprises call St. Louis home, with more than 15,000 employees.
In conjunction with this annual issue that focuses on the BioBelt, there is a special section in this monthÕs magazine on the development of CORTEX (the Center of Research, Technology and Entrepreneurial Exchange). CORTEX is a unique public-private partnership that is an outgrowth of the regionÕs original plant and medical sciences strategy based on a Battelle Memorial Institute study commissioned by the RCGA and completed in 2000.
The CORTEX District is located on several hundred acres in the City of St. Louis, bordered by the campuses founding CORTEX sponsors: BJC HealthCare, Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Missouri-St. Louis. CORTEXÕs newest tenant is the global headquarters and research and development facility of Solae, a joint venture between DuPont and Bunge.
Another firm headquartered at CORTEX is Stereotaxis, one of the first graduates from the Center for Emerging Technologies, which has been a driver of startup companies in
St. Louis. The timing of this monthÕs issue coincides with the 10th anniversary of CET, which provides specialized facilities, support services, training programs and access to capital needed to establish startups. CET has obtained more than $800 million in funding from investors, grants and revenues since
its inception.
Paralleling CORTEX as a Research District is an article this month on the regionÕs newest research park to support the needs
of start-ups called the Bio-Research & Development Growth Park at the Danforth Center. The development is adjacent to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and MonsantoÕs global headquarters in Creve Coeur.
Keeping with
the focus on science, there are articles this month on why it
is a great time to be a scientist in the St. Louis region and
on the collaboration that is emerging in plant sciences between
Missouri and Canada. There is also a feature on SciFest '08, a
science festival that will run from October 9 Ð 13th at the
Saint Louis Science Center. St. Louis competed with San Francisco,
Boston and New York to win the rights to host the festival.
The focus
on the BioBelt concludes with this month's "Spotlight"
featuring Dr. Roger Beachy, president and CEO of the Donald
Danforth Plant Sciences Center. He is one of the nation's top
plant scientists and he has helped put the St. Louis BioBelt on
the map.
We hope you
enjoy reading this issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
As always, please send your comments and suggestions to us at
dfleming@stlrcga.org.
RICHARD C.D. FLEMING
Publisher
St. Louis Commerce Magazine
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