BREAKINGGROUND ONTHECUTTINGEDGE

Sunday, July 16, 2006

By BRIAN LAWSON

Times Business Writer brian.lawson@htimes.com

Hudson recruiting 'top of top' to run biotech institute

The building is under way for the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, with construction crews and scientific recruiters hard at work.

The institute will combine nonprofit research efforts and eight to 10 biotechnology companies in a 260,000-square-foot facility and is scheduled to open in fall 2007.

The effort is being led by Jim Hudson, a Huntsville biotechnology pioneer who has $130 million in support, including $50 million from the state of Alabama and $80 million in private contributions.

The project was announced last August and broke ground in Cummings Research Park in January. The institute is expected to have between 500-600 workers when it opens and expand to some 1,600 people working on the campus with affiliated companies within 10 years.

The institute will perform cutting-edge research through the nonprofit researchers and license their discoveries to the for-profit companies to develop. Huntsville's biotechnology community is involved in a wide range of projects currently, including developing diagnostic tools for researchers and medical professionals.

Hudson said project construction is on schedule and his focus for the past few months has been on recruiting a scientific director for the institute. The institute has offered the job to one candidate and those discussions are ongoing.

"The biggest challenge is recruiting someone to an area where they will be responsible for building a biotech community," Hudson said. "We have a very promising choice for scientific director. I'd say the negotiations are going pretty well and we should know something by mid-August."

Huntsville currently has about 400 people employed in biotechnology work. Hudson said the institute's scientific director will need to be someone who is "inspired by a challenge and recognizes there is an opportunity here to really do something great."

The scientific director will be chiefly responsible for determining what the institute's focus will be, and Hudson said his recruiting efforts were aimed only at the "top of the top" in the biotechnology world.

"It's a bidding war right now, a seller's market," Hudson said. "It takes two times as much money to recruit somebody now as it did last year. The big expense in recruiting a person is the cost to run his lab. Last year they wanted this number; now it's two times that. I wouldn't be surprised next year if it's not three times. There is a real shortage of the best people."

When the center opens, it will have a staff of eight scientists and 120 technicians, Hudson said. Nearly a dozen biotech companies will occupy the institute, developing their products and interacting with researchers, he said.

Hudson said recruiting people to Huntsville shouldn't be a problem, given the area's quality of life. He said the challenge is more likely to come from the lack of significant size for the present biotech community, compared with the huge biotech work forces in places like San Diego and Boston.

While the recruiting is ongoing, the institute is already funding research through investigator Dr. Tom Hodge. Hodge is currently working at a lab at the University of Georgia, focusing on how genetics - the genes of a host - affect the infection level or severity of a disease.

Some people are virtually immune from some diseases, while others are very susceptible. Hudson said those factors are influenced by the traditional immune system and genes.

Hudson said there is a small percentage of people, between 3 percent and 5 percent worldwide, who are immune to AIDS, because they have a mutation in the proteins in the body to which AIDS usually attaches.

"Because of that type of host resistance, we don't all die of one thing," Hudson said. "If you can identify those proteins that cause you to be unable to get infected, that can present a drug target to work on."

The institute has also recently leased lab space at the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville and will set up a lab there.

A pharmacy school graduate has also been hired to begin vetting research ideas, Hudson said.

"All kinds of things are out there that are exciting to work on," Hudson said. "We just have to figure what's best for us and really getting going on the science."



BREAKINGGROUND ONTHECUTTINGEDGE Sunday, July 16, 2006 By BRIAN LAWSON Times Business Writer brian.lawson@htimes.com Hudson recruiting 'top of top' to run biotech institute The building is under way for the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, with construction crews and scientific recruiters hard at work. The institute will combine nonprofit research efforts and eight to 10 biotechnology companies in a 260,000-square-foot facility and is scheduled to open in fall 2007. The effort is being led by Jim Hudson, a Huntsville biotechnology pioneer who has $130 million in support, including $50 million from the state of Alabama and $80 million in private contributions. The project was announced last August and broke ground in Cummings Research Park in January. The institute is expected to have between 500-600 workers when it opens and expand to some 1,600 people working on the campus with affiliated companies within 10 years. The institute will perform cutting-edge research through the nonprofit researchers and license their discoveries to the for-profit companies to develop. Huntsville's biotechnology community is involved in a wide range of projects currently, including developing diagnostic tools for researchers and medical professionals. Hudson said project construction is on schedule and his focus for the past few months has been on recruiting a scientific director for the institute. The institute has offered the job to one candidate and those discussions are ongoing. "The biggest challenge is recruiting someone to an area where they will be responsible for building a biotech community," Hudson said. "We have a very promising choice for scientific director. I'd say the negotiations are going pretty well and we should know something by mid-August." Huntsville currently has about 400 people employed in biotechnology work. Hudson said the institute's scientific director will need to be someone who is "inspired by a challenge and recognizes there is an opportunity here to really do something great." The scientific director will be chiefly responsible for determining what the institute's focus will be, and Hudson said his recruiting efforts were aimed only at the "top of the top" in the biotechnology world. "It's a bidding war right now, a seller's market," Hudson said. "It takes two times as much money to recruit somebody now as it did last year. The big expense in recruiting a person is the cost to run his lab. Last year they wanted this number; now it's two times that. I wouldn't be surprised next year if it's not three times. There is a real shortage of the best people." When the center opens, it will have a staff of eight scientists and 120 technicians, Hudson said. Nearly a dozen biotech companies will occupy the institute, developing their products and interacting with researchers, he said. Hudson said recruiting people to Huntsville shouldn't be a problem, given the area's quality of life. He said the challenge is more likely to come from the lack of significant size for the present biotech community, compared with the huge biotech work forces in places like San Diego and Boston. While the recruiting is ongoing, the institute is already funding research through investigator Dr. Tom Hodge. Hodge is currently working at a lab at the University of Georgia, focusing on how genetics - the genes of a host - affect the infection level or severity of a disease. Some people are virtually immune from some diseases, while others are very susceptible. Hudson said those factors are influenced by the traditional immune system and genes. Hudson said there is a small percentage of people, between 3 percent and 5 percent worldwide, who are immune to AIDS, because they have a mutation in the proteins in the body to which AIDS usually attaches. "Because of that type of host resistance, we don't all die of one thing," Hudson said. "If you can identify those proteins that cause you to be unable to get infected, that can present a drug target to work on." The institute has also recently leased lab space at the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville and will set up a lab there. A pharmacy school graduate has also been hired to begin vetting research ideas, Hudson said. "All kinds of things are out there that are exciting to work on," Hudson said. "We just have to figure what's best for us and really getting going on the science." © 2006 The Huntsville Times © 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.