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biotech
The Keys to Medical City
Government Involvement
Government help for Medical City began with the approval of more than $70 million in subsidies from Orlando and Orange County to help build Burnham’s facility. It continued with visible participation from the respective mayors, Buddy Dyer and Rich Crotty, during the courtship of Burnham, and then further with expedited approvals for infrastructure needs. City and staff members met each weekend for more than a year to coordinate infrastructure and meet Burnham’s timetable. The school board sped construction of a high school just off the Medical City site. The effort to move the VA’s plans forward got a boost from the fact that both of Florida’s U.S. senators at the time lived within a stone’s throw of each other in Orlando and were familiar with the Lake Nona area.
 Jacob Stuart |
Whereas Orlando had chased Scripps with traditional behind-the-scenes meetings and promises, most of the med school effort and the Burnham courtship took place in public venues, says Jacob Stuart, president of the Central Florida Partnership. That, he believes, helped generate the broad community support that was essential to creating Medical City. “That’s the lesson Florida should begin to talk about. We are moving into era of openness. You can’t do economic development with just a closing fund.”
Expanding its Target
 John Reed [Photo: Burnham] |
» Traditional drug therapies, including some based on so-called “small molecule” drugs that show promise in targeting specific kinds of cells
» Gene and cell-based therapies in which genes are delivered to human cells or organs to treat disease or repair damage
» Therapies based on discoveries related to DNA sequencing — understanding the genetic basis of
an organism has become essential
for researchers to understand
how it works
» Technologies that are useful as laboratory tools and can be sold back to laboratories
» Medical devices, ranging from diagnostic tools to medical platforms like software systems that assist in research or diagnosis.
Reed expects that “within the next couple years you’ll see a couple of companies spun out of research
