MINNESOTA BUILDS FOUNDATION FOR
THRIVING BIOSCIENCE SECTOR
BY DALE WAHLSTROM
Minnesota is blessed with
unique natural resources and
innovative people. Minnesota is
one of the few places that offer
three biomes in one geographic
location to support agriculture
and forestry products. The landscape for bioscience-based industries is equally unique. The list of
viable industries in the state —
from medical devices and biologics, to animal health and food,
to renewable energy and bioma-terials — is diverse and strong.
There are many aspects that
created the environment we
enjoy. A strong entrepreneurial
spirit and solid educational system are two important factors
in our success. In the state that
gave us the Mayo Clinic and
the pacemaker, medical inventions are especially prominent.
From 2001 to 2005, Minnesota
ranked second in the nation
in medical patents. Our educational foundations in biosciences are solid and responsive, nurturing talent in everything from nanotechnology to
bioinformatics. The University
of Minnesota’s engineering
programs rank among the
best in the country, while the
Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities system has created
a global model for training in
renewable energy across all
skill sets, from production plant
operation to management and
engineering.
We also boast an exceptional
commercialization infrastructure
to support companies, especially
in the medical device, animal
health, renewable energy and
food sectors. The largest manufacturer of ethanol plants in the
United States, Fagen Inc., calls
Minnesota home. Minnesota
ranks fourth in wind production
in the United States. Industry
leaders in animal and poultry
vaccines, such as Prairie Holdings
Group and Epitopix, also hail
from Minnesota. DCI Inc., one of
the world’s leaders in the design
and manufacture of reactor vessels to support the pharma and
biotech industry, is from central
Minnesota. Medtronic, St. Jude
Medical and 3M are among
the industry giants in medical
technology that are based in
Minnesota.
In southern Minnesota, the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester is
a world leader in medical
research. Among its many projects, Mayo is partnering with
IBM and the University of
Minnesota in studying how the
genetic code can be leveraged
to treat and cure diseases. The
Minnesota BioBusiness Center
— currently under construction
in downtown Rochester — will
serve as an incubator for bioscience companies. West of
Rochester in Austin, the Hormel
Institute has completed a major
expansion that will increase its
capacity for cancer research.
Government has also played
a key role in creating an environment where the biobusiness
industry can thrive. The state
was the first to require a
mandatory blending of ethanol
with gasoline to produce E10.
State mandates are now in
place to begin increasing the
blend to 20 percent. The state
has set a legislative requirement
that 25 percent of electricity
will come from renewable
sources by 2025, including
wind power. Finally, Minnesota
policymakers are becoming
more progressive in supporting
the growth of other biology-based industries such as bioma-terials.
Those of us who live and
work in Minnesota know that
few places offer as much to balance personal and work life. But
it is also a state that has produced fertile ground for a successful bioscience future. We
invite you to take a look.
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