One of the best-kept secrets about Colorado is its budding life sciences industry. On Tuesday a new economic development campaign was launched that is aimed at elevating Colorado as America’s epicenter of life science innovation, known as the Colorado Hub for Health Impact.
Twenty-two partners, including Longmont Economic Development Partnership, of Longmont EDP, created and funded the national campaign.
“Our partnership shares a vision for Colorado’s future as a world-class hub for health innovation. This first-ever, large-scale investment will attract new life sciences companies, talent, and investors to Colorado, resulting in even stronger collaborations and breakthroughs that save and change lives around the world. Together, we represent the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity that makes our state a leading location for life sciences innovation,” said Elyse Blazevich, president & CEO, Colorado BioScience Association.
The campaign will highlight six critical factors that the partners believe will draw these companies to Colorado: talent and inclusivity, capital and growth, location and real estate, lifestyle and culture, community and infrastructure and costs and incentives.
Bio-science is one of Longmont’s identified key industries, according to Erin Fosdick, executive director of Longmont EDP. The local industry supports current bio-science companies such as AGC Biologics, LightDeck and McKesson.
Fosdick said the impact of drawing life science companies to the areas doesn’t stop with the bio-science companies. Longmont is also home to companies such as Sun Construction which specializes in building scientific labs that support bio-science work.
“We have a lot here already and we have the capacity to attract a lot more and part of that is because of the talent that is already here,” Fosdick said.
The talent pool comes from the work being done at local universities, an already educated population and the addition of a bio-science focus in the St. Vrain Valley School District, Fosdick said.
“We have the right ecosystem in this burgeoning life sciences sector,” she said.
Longmont also has the real estate, especially with the newly renovated Max Tech Center, to support a life-science company in need of lab space.
Longmont is also centrally located among the life sciences companies that have already made Colorado their home. A majority of these companies can be found along the US-36 corridor and as far east as Frederick and Firestone.
Colorado has consistently been rated in the top 10 on national and international charts as being a life science hub. The new campaign will draw more attention to the state in order to help all the companies involved “move their innovations from the bench to patients,” Blazevich said.
“Some of these innovators are working on healthcare’s most pressing challenges in medical device, diagnostic, biotech and pharma, ag bio, animal health and digital health solutions that are helping serve patients in these critical health areas,” Blazevich said.
With so many companies working in close proximity it allows them to also share resources and collaborate which then can result in the industry moving faster on pressing challenges, she added.
