The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, located in Cummings Research Park, will house 12 companies and organizations dedicated to biotechnology research and development in genetics and personalized medicine.

From left, HudsonAlpha President Jim Hudson, HudsonAlpha Chairman Lonnie McMillian, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, State Sen. Roger Bedford, and Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer cut the ribbon to mark the initial opening of the 270,000 square-foot facility.

Companies Begin Moving Into HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

Several companies are beginning to move into what is quickly becoming known as a globally recognized biotechnology center as construction concludes on the new HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Cummings Research Park.

The 270,000 square-foot facility will eventually hold about 900 employees, several companies and research organizations and state-of-the-art laboratories for biotechnology research and development in genetics and personalized medicine.

Founder and Institute President Jim Hudson recently joined with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley in announcing that Dr. Richard Myers, professor and chair of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine and director of the Stanford Human Genome Center, accepted the position of scientific director of the Institute. Dr. Myers will transition from a consulting role over the next year before assuming the full-time position next fall. During the transition period he will continue as professor at Stanford and head of the Stanford Human Genome Center.

A ribbon cutting ceremony announcing the partial opening of the new center was held Friday, Nov. 9. Riley helped secure $50 million in state funding to help launch the Institute, which will include 12 companies focused on disease treatment and discovery that will benefit all of mankind, he said. He also compared the growth of the biotech industry in Huntsville to the birthplace of the America’s space program in the 1950's and said that Alabama could one day be known as the home of the company that cured ovarian or breast cancer.

“We said when we had the groundbreaking here that you’re going to see an expansion in the biotech industry unlike anything that we have ever seen in Huntsville since the 1950s’s,” Riley said.

Others attending the ceremony and making comments were HudsonAlpha President and founder Jim Hudson, Sen. Roger Bedford (D-Russellville) and Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer.

Dr. Myers, a Tuscaloosa native and a founding member of the HudsonAlpha Scientific Advisory Board, will direct a team of investigators conducting genomics-based research to discover new treatments and tools for improved human health.

Companies scheduled to move into the building include:

• Applied Genomics
• CFD Research
• Expression Genetics
• ExtremoZyme
• Microarrays
• Open Biosystems
• Serina Therapeutics
• Source CF
• Antarus Biotech
• Conversant HealthCare Systems
• New Century Pharmaceuticals
• Theragnostix Reference Laboratories