These are exciting times for The Research Valley.  Following the announcement of a new RVP virtual office in Cary, North Carolina, our representatives – led by Dr. Terry Fossum and Todd McDaniel – have already met with more than 20 companies and organizations at the CED Life Sciences Conference in Raleigh.

The companies in our one-on-one partnering meetings cover a spectrum from manufacturers to venture capital firms at this heavily attended event. Specific company meetings yesterday included Sanofi, Novartis Health, Abbott Bio Ventures, Merck, Salzburg Pharmaceuticals, and Wilmington Pharmaceuticals.

Highlights and substantial client interest focused on:

• Texas A&M Institute of Preclinical Studies speed-to-market services and commercialization support
• Information on the Texas A&M Bioscience Business Accelerator
• Financial support through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, and local assistance
• Opportunities to partner directly with Texas A&M and the cancer registry for canines through the Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry    

Dr. Terry Fossum, Director of the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies, noted, “The energy level of every meeting was very high. Everyone was anxious to hear about our innovative programs and more importantly looking for ways to partner and get engaged.”

In addition, the conference gave the RVP a chance to reconnect with Deloitte Consulting which has a major presence at the event. This builds directly on December meetings between the Deloitte Health Sciences Team and Susan Vestal of the RVP to establish a closer working relationship and generate interest in Research Valley biocorridor opportunities. 

Today, we had productive meetings with Novartis Ventures, Dow Agrosciences, Prasco Labs, International Discovery and Sciences Consulting, NC Biotech Center, Abbott Laboratories (Pharma Group), Trana Discovery, and Duke Clinical Research Institute.

We will wrap up the mission tomorrow with an early morning visit to NC State and Centennial Campus for a partners discussion with Leah Burton, Director of Centennial Campus Partnerships, at NC State.

We continue to be extremely upbeat about the success we are having at this event and the synergy being generated with other bio initiatives. Thank you for your interest, your support, and sharing in the future we are building together in the Research Valley.

All our best,

The Research Valley Partnership Team

This week, representatives from the Research Valley Partnership (RVP) and the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies are attending the 2012 CED Life Science Conference and launching the RVP’s first virtual office in the Research Triangle region.  We thought you would want to know how this important strategic partnership approach impacts the RVP’s bio-corridor implementation plan to start, grow and attract businesses to the Research Valley.

The CED Life Science Conference is hosted by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) in partnership with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and NC Biosciences Organization in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The two-day conference includes partnering sessions and networking opportunities with industry executives, including the region’s most innovative entrepreneurs, major pharmaceutical companies, research leaders, policy makers and nationally prominent investors at what has become the Southeast’s premier life science event.

 As a component of the conference, the RVP will announce the opening of its first virtual office in Cary, North Carolina.  The goal of this office is to show the Research Valley is committed to building long term business relationships in the region.  The office is being made possible, in part, through the generosity of DATATRAK International, a worldwide technology and services company that provides internet-based, eClinical solutions for the clinical trials industry with offices located in Bryan, Texas; Cary, North Carolina; and Cleveland, Ohio.  DATATRAK International is providing complimentary office space at their Cary location in support of RVP business development efforts.  This is just another example of what can be achieved through the great network of business partners in the Research Valley.

For the next two days, I will be sending you an email outlining the previous day’s meetings attended by our representatives.  This is an excellent opportunity to share an inside look at what life science companies think and want to know about our community.

I look forward to being in touch, and I hope you will find our updates enlightening.

All my best,

Todd E. McDaniel, President & CEO

The Research Valley Partnership

The index grew for the fourth consecutive month, rising from 119.6 in November to 120.2 in December — which also was up compared to the December 2010 index of 119.5.

Read More>>

The new building will house state-of-the-art classroom and teaching laboratory space that will enhance the learning environment for students. Combined with the expansion of the small animal hospital, the new facilities will provide opportunities for innovations in teaching and will nurture collaboration and creativity. In addition, they are expected to be a notable factor in recruiting the best faculty, staff, and students.

Read More>>

Read More>>

The economic impact of Texas A&M University and other members of The Texas A&M University System based locally is estimated to have been $3.76 billion during 2011, slightly more than for the previous year even though the number of employees and size of the institutional payrolls declined as the result of state-mandated budget reductions. However, from the perspective of progress over the past decade (2001-2011), the total Texas A&M local economic impact increased by almost $1.7 billion, or more than 85 percent.

Read More>>

The SBDC assisted 267 small business clients throughout its service region in Washington, Colorado and Austin counties, and helped in the creation of 167 new jobs and the launch of more than a dozen companies.

“We help businesses become established, grow, survive and succeed by providing professional management consulting and training, resulting in measurable economic outcomes,” said Blinn SBDC Director Matthew Wehring. “We significantly reduce the failure rate of small business in our area and significantly improve their ability to generate profits.”

Read More>>

John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, today announced creation of a new Best Practices model for services and support to student veterans throughout its 11 campuses, 7 state agencies and health science center. Drawing upon the A&M System’s Project Military Friendly and input from universities, community colleges and agencies around the state and the country, the guidelines cover student veteran-related issues ranging from GI Bill financial procedures to counseling to improved measurements for tracking academic success.

“This important Best Practices model provides the groundwork for a more focused and collaborative approach to providing service to our veterans and military community, not only within the A&M System, but throughout the higher education community,” said Sharp. “With student veteran enrollment steadily increasing as troops come home from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, it is vital that we do everything we can to insure that our universities are prepared to put these fine young men and women on a steady path to success.”

Read More>>

The City of Bryan is offering the Gunler company some incentives to build an olive and vegetable oil bottling plant here.

And if the deal is signed the $14 million plant would employ more than two hundred workers at the Texas Triangle Park.

It’s a potential building boom in Bryan as Gunler, a Mexico-based food distributor is looking to open up a brand new bottling facility in Bryan bringing 230 jobs.

Read More>>

Gunler, a Mexican company that is a major supplier for Wal-Mart, is in talks to buy 25 acres in the Texas Triangle Park, an industrial site off Texas 6 that was developed by the Research Valley Partnership. The company will make bottles for edible oils, such as olive and vegetable oil, on the site.

The property is on the Union Pacific railroad and has direct access to the Port of Houston. Grunlan plans to bring the edible oil to its facility on trains, bottle it, affix labels and then ship it to consumer markets, many of which will be in Mexico and Central America.

Read More>>