The New Economy in Delaware
By Lt. Governor John C. Carney, Jr., and Dr. David S. Weir, Director, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware
The United States is in danger of losing its dominance in science, technology and innovation to foreign competitors mainly in Europe and Asia, according to a recent New York Times article. The piece cites a downturn in US patents, published research, and US recipients of Nobel Prizes. Of special concern is the decline in young Americans interested in pursuing technical careers. Such a trend, if allowed to continue, would have a significant impact on the future of states like Delaware where science, engineering and mathematics have had a major impact on prosperity and quality of life.
Ever since E.I. du Pont began making gunpowder on the banks of the Brandywine 200 years ago, Delaware has been one of the most inventive and entrepreneurial regions in the world, nurturing new technology-based businesses like, dyes, industrial chemicals, fibers and polymers and more recently pharmaceuticals from AstraZeneca. Thousands of jobs were created through research and new product development. That meant jobs and economic security not only for those involved but also for the people who produced the food, built the homes, sold the cars, staffed the banks and taught in the schools that Delawareans needed. The development of such wealth resulted from the creation of a collaborative environment involving the academic communities, the private sector and state government that brought together high quality research, advanced education and an entrepreneurial spirit.
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To reverse the trend discussed by the New York Times and to prosper in a global economy that places a premium on knowledge, this environment has to be recreated. Delaware is taking steps to do this.
In February, Governor Minner introduced the “New Economy Initiative” to promote scientific research, business development, and entrepreneurship in the State. One of the new business segments being developed under the Governor’s Initiative is biotechnology, the name given to a broad spectrum of businesses that are developing products at the interface of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, engineering and computer science. These products will impact most aspects of our lives.
For example, in human health, biotechnology will produce more effective drugs that are tailored to an individual’s special condition. Diagnostic techniques are being developed to help the early identification and treatment of disease. New cell therapies are being researched to cure some of life’s most disabling diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.
Our food supply will also be impacted. New crops are being produced that are healthier, more nutritious and use less fertilizer, lower levels of chemical application and less water, thereby improving the sustainability of the environment. Bio-fuels are being derived from corn and soybeans. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals are being produced from discarded cornstalks instead of petroleum using a new process technology that depends on microbes. Industrial biochemistry is the name given to a new but rapidly growing field that makes useful chemicals using cells from animals, plants and bacteria to generate industrially useful products – products such as amino acids and vitamin supplements, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, even solid rocket fuel used in air-to-air missiles. It has been reported that 5% of the value of the world’s chemical output is already biotech-based, and this is expected to rise to 10% over the next decade.
In the poultry industry, which is so important to Delaware, biotechnology will help growers raise and maintain healthy flocks since research is ongoing to understand and prevent disease, improve diagnostics, and develop vaccines to protect this important food supply.
In the next five to ten years, we will see an array of new products – medicines, food, chemicals and fuels that emerge from today’s R&D. And though not all product ideas will survive to reach the marketplace, those that do will arise out of a long-term vision, a patient investment approach, and a well-educated workforce.
Delaware made a significant commitment to developing a biotechnology sector in 1999 when the University of Delaware and the State, with support from the private sector (DuPont, AstraZeneca and Hercules) created the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI) as a unit of the University of Delaware. DBI’s mission is to help focus and grow Delaware’s biotechnology capability through research, education, economic development and informed discussion.
With a research agenda encompassing human health, agriculture, marine ecology and bio-based materials, DBI has led the development of a research and education infrastructure that now links DBI, the University of Delaware, Delaware Technical & Community College, Delaware State University, Wesley College and Christiana Care Health System. Through this infrastructure, research ideas and research facilities are being shared, new education programs are being developed and faculty partnerships and student mentoring encouraged across the State.
These institutions have already been awarded more than $35 million in federal research grants and are competing for about $30 million more. For example, with support from the Delaware Legislature and Governor Minner, DBI is leading a team in a National Science Foundation program- the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)- to increase research and development funding to the State. Through this program, Delaware can compete for $9 million in federal funds with a state matching investment of $4.5 million.
Importantly, DBI was located in the Delaware Technology Park (DTP), a nonprofit enterprise that enables technology based companies to thrive in a supportive environment, and a bioscience organization is being created to further develop an entrepreneurial culture. These efforts have already achieved a measure of success. DBI, DTP and the Delaware Economic Development Office have collaborated to attract and incubate about 20 new biotechnology companies to the State. These companies have helped draw about $100 million in private investment to Delaware and have been awarded more than $20 million in federal research grants.
Here are some examples of what they’re doing:
§ Colorado-based Tapestry Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly NaPro Biotherapeutics) came to Delaware to team with University of Delaware Professor Eric Kmiec, whose research has led to patents that show how to correct malfunctioning genes that are responsible for diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and sickle cell anemia. Tapestry has licensed these patents and is establishing a new Genomics Division at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute in the Delaware Technology Park in Newark.
§ MIDI, Inc., based in Newark and founded by University of Delaware Professor Myron Sasser, has developed a patented instrument system to identify unknown microbes, including possible bioterrorism agents. Hospitals, public health departments, and the U.S. Department of Defense are customers.
§ Quest Pharmaceutical Service, located in the Delaware Technology Park and founded by former DuPont Merck scientist Dr. Ben Chien, provides laboratory analysis services to pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs.
§ The Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology chose Delaware as its home in 2001, attracted by the scientific facilities and intellectual capital available through the University of Delaware and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. Today, Fraunhofer is working to produce useful plant-based products. The Fraunhofer research platform is often called Molecular Farming, and can be used to produce new vaccines, make low-cost industrial enzymes, or manufacture therapeutic proteins used in medicines. Since its start-up phase at DBI, Fraunhofer’s state-of-the-art research facility has now moved to its own laboratory in the Delaware Technology Park, adjacent to the University of Delaware main campus in Newark, DE.
Through the growth of these companies and others, it is estimated that Delaware’s biotechnology sector has added more than 10,000 new direct and ancillary jobs since 1998.
We know from experience that the development of high tech business segments like biotechnology tend to take place in ‘campus-like’ clusters that bring together strong research universities and technical colleges in close proximity to the emerging businesses. Collaboration is necessary because many of the businesses are small and do not have deep financial pockets. Academic research provides the businesses with a cost effective research capability, giving them access to new science and technology and intellectual property rights that protect their competitive position and ensure a route to the market place.
Academic research also provides an educational capability that impacts curricula from kindergarten through university. In combination with technical training it also helps establish a knowledge intensive work force. This is critical since these businesses not only require skilled electricians, pipe fitters, and mechanics, but also require highly trained scientists and technicians all working together to invent, develop and produce high tech, high value, products.
Finally, it is clear that success in this arena will require renewed attention to the education of our youth in science, engineering and mathematics. Delawareans need to urge their elected officials to support such education and parents need to nurture their child’s interest in these disciplines. College students, especially those majoring in science and engineering at Delaware schools, have a choice of internships in research labs; these internships often pave the way to jobs or graduate school. In fact, the University of Delaware has just made this a type of “discovery learning” that will be a graduation requirement for students starting college this fall. It is also not too late for today’s adults to position themselves to work in the new knowledge intensive industries. Retraining and degree opportunities exist at Delaware Technical & Community College, the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Wesley College
The realities of the global economy require states to take responsibility and redesign their future. Delaware has already started to position itself to succeed in this new economy. Policy makers, the private sector and residents need to work together to keep the momentum going and assure a bright future for Delaware’s economy.
