Gov. Fletcher announces $750,000 grant to fund life-sciences ventures
Gov. Ernie Fletcher presents MetaCyte Business Lab with a $750,000 check.
A Louisville-based business incubator received a boost Oct. 21 when Gov. Ernie Fletcher presented MetaCyte Business Lab with a check for $750,000.
The funds, approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, will help MetaCyte create and launch new life-sciences companies by providing expertise in such areas as regulatory approval and product development.
"Life sciences and biosciences industry represent an important economic development opportunity for Kentucky," Fletcher said. "The capacity for economic development and potential growth of the life and biosciences industry is staggering.
"We are poised as a commonwealth to catch up and become a leader in this area."
One way to do that, Fletcher said, is to focus on nationally recognized research being conducted at the University of Louisville and find ways to commercialize it by establishing start-up companies.
MetaCyte was founded by the Louisville Medical Center Development Corp., whose board members include representatives from the University of Louisville, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare, Norton Healthcare and city government.
Only a few years old, MetaCyte has already proved instrumental in the development of three successful start-ups, including PGXL Labs.
"Together, these three companies have already raised nearly $3 million in public and private funding," said Deborah Clayton, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Commercialization and Innovation. "Over the next decade, MetaCyte is positioned to create viable companies (with a) combined value in excess of $1 billion.
"Today's announcement demonstrates the local and statewide commitment to providing the resources necessary to be competitive in a global new economy through research, innovation, advanced technology and improved infrastructure."
In addition to the $750,000 grant, the city of Louisville is providing $400,000 in matching funds, while LMCDC and other MetaCyte partners will contribute $350,000 of in-kind contributions.
Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson noted that UofL plays a critical role in the development of new bioscience businesses because of the access it provides to leading-edge research.
"From the mind to the marketplace is what we're all about," he said. 'Without the University of Louisville's leadership, we wouldn't have the kind of bright future that we see for all of us."
UofL President James Ramsey, Ph.D., noted that the university is focused primarily on translational research -- "research that we can take out of our laboratories and use to provide a better quality of life for the people of our community."
Such research provides more than economic opportunity, however. It also improves quality of life for all Kentuckians.
"By supporting the development and growth of companies like PGXL, we see positive change for patients and physicians much more quickly than if these discoveries were confined to the academic arena," Ramsey said.
Roland Valdes Jr., Ph.D., president of PGXL and senior vice chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UofL, agreed.
"We feel strongly that our origins at the University of Louisville and the relationship with MetaCyte has played a significant role in getting this company launched and getting this science brought to the public."
