I love to report on new centers that are opening up in the U.S. and around the world. So long as they're done right (adequate planning, good management, researchers who are committed to their craft, and realistic monetary goals, among other things), they bring tremendous promise to the region.
The first to report on, just because I love the name, is the new Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park, or DuBiotech. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and its Defense Minister, revealed the impressive new center with 30,000,000 square feet of built-up area. With Dubai's free trade zone and its unique location (sort of in the middle of everything for international businesses - a crossroads for Asia, Europe and Africa), and with the money that Dubai can pour into getting researchers and labs running, this will be an interesting development. And this should make the U.S. sit up and take notice - Dubai has promised companies establishing themselves there a 50 year exemption from all corporate and personal income tax, guarantees that companies will have 100% ownership of the business, and 100% repatriation of capital and profits.
Phoenix also just opened up a pioneering tech center right in downtown. With 170,000 square feet of prime space, it should be a boon to the genetic research community. Only one floor is left to be leased in the first building, and three more are expected. As the article notes, Phoenix and Arizona still present cost advantages over their western neighbor, California. With numerous companies in California looking to move or open other labs and ventures outside of CA's borders (high taxes, high real estate costs, high unemployment insurance costs, etc.), Phoenix could be well-placed to lure some of those companies to its booning environs.
Last to report today, Kentucky could benefit from Western Kentucky University's new science building devoted to Engineering and Biological Sciences. It cost the university $20,000,000 to build, and has 72,000 square feet of research space to fill. From the press release, it looks like some of the companies in the area who work in non-biology related fields have already benefited from the school's efforts. It will be great to hear that more bioscience work is being done and attracting more companies and work to that area, too.
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