The Buffalo News

UB PROCEEDS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY CENTER

Published on November 28, 2001
Author:    FRED O. WILLIAMS - News Business Reporter
© The Buffalo News Inc.

The University at Buffalo is lining up major pieces of a biotechnology center even while state funds for the gene research facility remain up in the air, provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi said Tuesday.

A director with top credentials has been picked for the center, she said, declining to name him. In addition, corporate backers for the research facility are also in place. "We can do this in Buffalo -- we have the science," Capaldi said. "We are poised to be a leader in this new economy."

She made the remarks during a meeting of the Information Technology Council, a group of Buffalo businesses that meets with city officials.

Buffalo is a candidate for a multimillion dollar research center in "bioinformatics," or the use of high-powered computers to make sense of the human genetic code. Funds for the plan are tied up in state budget delays.

The region risks losing its head start in the emerging genetic industry if delays in funding continue, Capaldi said. The preparations could speed the center's development if funds arrive next year.

"It's very competitive in bioinformatics -- everyone is trying to do this," she said. "Right now we can attract people here, and I think this is the time to do it."

The center could propel the city into the field of gene-based drugs and medical products. It would build on an existing talent base at UB's medical school, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute.

Backers of the plan envision a building in the city's medical corridor with links to the UB supercomputer. Start-up drug research companies could work there, taking advantage of nearby testing labs.

Capaldi wouldn't name the candidate for director, but described him as a scientist with a track record in gene research and related business. Such skills are seen as essential to giving the center credibility. To succeed as a development tool, the research initiative must bridge the divide between science and marketable products.

Capaldi also wouldn't discuss the level of corporate sponsorship that has been committed. Partner companies will receive benefits by developing their info-tech equipment for the emerging genetic research field.

"Companies are very receptive -- they know they need to be involved (in bioinformatics)," she said.

In January Gov. George E. Pataki proposed spending $283 million on four major research centers, before the state's
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UB: Competition for funding intense
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revenue outlook was darkened by the September 11 attacks.

In October, lawmakers approved $10 million in funding to allow planning to continue for the four centers.

Sen. Dale M. Volker, R-Depew, said Buffalo appears to be in line for one-third of the planning money. Further funding is expected to follow in 2002.

"We want to get this thing going as quickly as we can," he said. But "there's so much competition for this money."

Lawmakers had sought up to $75 million for each proposed center, a figure that will be scaled back because of the state's reduced revenue, Volker said.

Entrenched thinking by Buffalo's manufacturing-oriented business sector could also be a hurdle to clear in fostering a biotechnology sector, Mayor Anthony M. Masiello said.

"People don't understand bioinformatics and genomics," he said. "We have a culture here where everybody thinks that Bethlehem Steel is going to come back, and that's not going to happen."

The city is looking to reenergize its "Byte Belt" of information-technology companies, Masiello said. Although the tech industry is suffering, new developments bracketing downtown in the city's medical corridor and on the waterfront point toward future opportunity for downtown businesses.

"We want to strengthen the Byte Belt and take it to a new level," he said.

The city's development arm asked tech businesses to come forward with ideas for Byte Belt programs. Linking existing commercial space to development agencies could give companies greater access to business-boosting programs, BERC president Alan DeLisle said.

e-mail: fwilliams@buffnews.com

"We can do this in Buffalo-we have the science. We are
poised to be a leader in this new economy." Elizabeth D. Capaldi,
University at Buffalo provost.

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