{"82241":{"#nid":"82241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Biosciences Center Assists Life-Science Startups, Accelerates Commercialization","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 22,000-square-foot ATDC Biosciences Center is the first ATDC facility to offer wet labs. Equipped with fume hoods and sinks, this kind of laboratory space is important for bioscience companies that typically need special ventilation and purified water systems to advance their research. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother hallmark of the new incubator is its location within the Ford Environmental Science \u0026amp; Technology (ES\u0026amp;T) Building, a new 287,000-square foot research center that houses a variety of life-science programs ranging from chemical engineering to biology. (ES\u0026amp;T is part of Georgia Tech\u0027s Life Sciences and Technology Complex, which also includes the Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Building and the Petit Biotechnology Building - all constructed in the last four years.)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s unusual to have an incubator integrated into a major research building. Most incubators on university campuses are freestanding, in separate facilities,\u0022 says Wayne Hodges, director of ATDC and Georgia Tech\u0027s vice provost for Economic Development and Technology Ventures. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet by being convenient to researchers in the new Life Sciences Complex, the ATDC Biosciences Center enables entrepreneurs and university faculty -- individuals who are typically isolated from each other -- to collaborate more easily. The arrangement also fosters an interesting exchange of perspectives, Hodges adds: \u0022It helps investors and entrepreneurs better understand the interests of faculty and vice versa.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EATDC first experimented with this sort of holistic approach in 1996 when it opened an incubator in the Georgia Centers for Advanced Telecommunication Technology (GCATT) building, home for some 20 research centers funded by government and industry. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENumerous success stories have emerged from ATDC at GCATT, including Digital Furnace, a company formed by Atlanta entrepreneur John Lappington and Georgia Tech professor John Limb that developed software to improve the efficiency of broadband networks. In less than two years after Digital Furnace\u0027s incorporation, Broadcom Corp. of Irvine, Calif., acquired the company in a stock trade valued at more than $136 million.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Having multiple incubators on campus is more challenging in terms of managing the physical space and providing business services to the companies,\u0022 says Susan Shows, vice president of the Georgia Research Alliance, which supported the GCATT facility and has provided more than $5 million to launch the new incubator. \u0022Yet the benefits of this integrated model far outweigh any complications.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ATDC Biosciences Center is an important \u0022first step\u0022 in advancing Georgia\u0027s bioscience prowess, Shows adds: \u0022Although bioscience is growing rapidly, it\u0027s still a relatively new industry in Georgia. We\u0027re trying to identify our core competencies and build industry around those strengths. By putting startups next to outstanding scientists and sophisticated equipment, we hope to generate more successful commercialization and tech transfer.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"With bioscience activity heating up in Georgia, Georgia Tech\u0027s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) has launched a new incubator devoted exclusively to the commercialization of life-science innovations.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-02-01 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:41","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-01-28T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2004-01-28T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/newsrelease\/est.htm","title":"A plus for faculty"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=\u0022\u003EContact  \u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}