The Roanoke-Blacksburg region is establishing itself as a biomedical research hub and medical device innovation center.
About $5 million from the state could help move that work from labs to markets.
Those millions will fund Project Vital: Virginia Innovations and Technology Advancements in Life Sciences. It’s a collaboration among the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (formerly Verge), Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic. The organizations will work to further solidify fields including medical devices, oncology therapeutic research and neurotechnology.
Their goal is to create 1,315 jobs over five years and bring a $40.8 million economic impact while setting up the region as a biotech innovation hub, according to a Virginia Tech news release.
“This feels like an incredibly pivotal moment,” said John Provo, executive director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement.
The moment was months in the making, with project leaders having pitched the idea to the board of the economic development initiative GO Virginia in April 2024. RBIA, Virginia Tech and Carilion represent GO Virginia’s Region 2.
Their $4.9 million cut is part of the $14.3 million that GO Virginia approved in state funding for this and two sister projects in Richmond and Charlottesville. The Roanoke-Blacksburg prong will also use $3.5 million in non-state funding — a mix of cash and in-kind contributions from cities, counties, higher education institutions, medical facilities, biotech companies and other businesses, including Virginia Bio.
Virginia Commonwealth University is teaming with Activation Capital to lead Project Vital efforts in GO Virginia Region 4. The University of Virginia and CvilleBioHub are leading Region 9.
“Every one of the projects is a little bit different based on specific context and need in each of these regions,” Provo said.
In Richmond, GO Virginia approved $5 million for Activation Capital, which listed such goals as raising $75 million in capital and filing 150 patents in life sciences and biosciences, according to a GO Virginia document.
Roanoke Economic Development Director Marc Nelson credited Erin Burcham, executive director of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, and her collaboration with CvilleBioHub and Activation Capital counterparts for the grant requests’ success.
“They’ve really built a really strong network where you could definitely see the potential for these regions to compete and to … really make it a difficult thing,” Nelson said. “But they’ve really come together and found common ground. We don’t all do the same things. Our ecosystems are slightly different and we’ve all found ways to work together on this.”
He added: “We’re building these bigger things and it helps the state tremendously.”
Project Vital followed up on a major part of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2024 budget, a $90 million investment in biotechnology advancement, divided among UVa, VCU, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion University. The money included $27 million for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC to expand clinical research.
“So last year’s budget focused on the higher ed research side,” Burcham said in a Tuesday video conference call with Provo and Nelson. “And this will focus on the commercialized side.”
Region 2’s contingent will aim at supporting existing businesses and nurturing startups, and will work with educators from kindergarten through college to help build a workforce, Burcham said.
Other partners include the Roanoke Regional Partnership and Onward New River Valley, which will help brand the region as a biotech hub, in hopes of drawing a more experienced and specialized work force, she said.
Brandy Salmon, Virginia Tech’s associate vice president for innovation and partnerships, said in the university news release that faculty and students are making discoveries and developing technology that will lay the foundation for great companies in the United States.
“This program offers what is needed to ensure that the innovations in the university’s labs are moved into the commercial sector for human and economic impact,” Salmon said.
- Carilion Clinic’s Human Factors Lab has previously been an internal organization, but more funding will allow it to open to startups across the commonwealth. Human factors is a multidisciplinary way to reduce job errors and injuries, and the Carilion lab focuses in part on turning that science toward patient care.
- Carilion Clinic Innovations will move to become certified to coach medical device entrepreneurs as they prepare for FDA approval.
“Our innovation and human factors teams are excited to be a partner in broadening our region’s biotech sector,” Aileen Helsel, director of Carilion Clinic Innovation, said in a statement. “Carilion will transform GO Virginia’s support into building resources that guide medical device startups as they navigate federal regulations with the help of streamlined documentation and risk management and device testing and validation, making it possible to move the devices closer to helping us care for our patients.”
- Virginia Tech programs designed to encourage biomedical startups will offer proof-of-concept programs and innovation fellowships.
- Virginia Tech will add resources to help with market research and the patent process for faculty and student entrepreneurs.
- Advanced laboratory facilities, shared equipment and programming will be developed for startups.
- RBIA will launch a technical track to parallel its continued focus on the business side. It will train startups including medical device, therapeutics and neurological tech companies to achieve regulatory compliance.
- Capital attraction will be part of the project, with funds to bring on Marty Rosendale, a longtime biotech investor and consultant. Rosendale, formerly chief executive at the Maryland Tech Council, will coach burgeoning companies statewide.
“This whole project is really meaty,” Burcham said in a previous conversation about Project Vital. “There’s a lot of programs and projects that are under this that could really help to ignite our biotech sector.”
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