Forward Bio Initiative Launches with $750K Grant from WI Jobs Agency
Summary
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) said Thursday that it has awarded $750,000 in grant funding to help launch a new biomanufacturing collaboration that aims to promote technological innovation and job creation in the Badger State.As Xconomy reported in August , the groups behind the collaboration—which they’re calling the Forward Bio Initiative—are seeking to assist academic researchers and business leaders with developing and commercializing drugs, medical devices, and other products for use in the healthcare and biotech industries.As Wisconsin’s flagship life sciences advocacy and trade group, BioForward serves a growing “biohealth” sector in Wisconsin that encompasses 1,900 companies and their combined 44,000-plus employees, according to a news release .The institute, which is launching in parallel with the initiative, will help inventors and researchers at UW-Madison “translate biomanufacturing technologies into the private sector,” in part by forming partnerships that connect leaders in academia and industry, WEDC said.Murphy says he expects the people involved with the Forward Bio Initiative to work with some of the existing organizations at UW-Madison that support inventors and technology transfer.