25 Jan Wisconsin gets "biotech hotspot" designation from industry newsletter
Wisconsin has earned another national mention as a “biotech hotspot,” this time in e-mail newsletter FierceBiotech. In aggregate this kind of recognition raises the state’s profile and is just what the biotech industry has been asking for.
Joining Wisconsin on the list of five hotspots were California, Maryland, New Jersey and Singapore. John Carroll, the editor responsible for compiling the list, told Forbes it was a subjective ranking based on “chemistry as determined by FierceBiotech.”
Among the reasons Wisconsin got called out:
• The $750 million package of private and public biotech projects that Governor Doyle has been publicizing since late 2004.
• Wisconsin’s tax-credit programs for tech companies, such as Act 255 tax credits for investors in early-stage companies.
• The State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s commitment of $50 million to state venture capital funds.
• Placement of the NIH’s National Stem Cell Bank at the WiCell Institute in Madison last October.
The publication said, however, that California remains “at the forefront” of the promising field of stem-cell research.
Forbes has also recognized Wisconsin, drawing attention to the biotech economy here and calling Madison the number-one city for business and careers in the nation in 2004.
• FierceBiotech: Top Five Regions Targeting Biotech Companies
• Wisconsin State Journal: Wisconsin called emerging biotech hot spot
• Forbes: Biotech’s hot spots