Ten years ago, a group of scientists and entrepreneurs in Charlottesville decided the community needed a way to jump start companies that could improve health.
“Connecting people to one another for everything that they need – talent, capital, infrastructure, attract others to the region, attract attention to all the amazing technologies that are here, says Nikki Hastings, CEO of the CvilleBioHub.
At the outset it identified forty local firms looking for better ways to diagnose and treat disease and to maintain good health. Today, she says, there are more than 250 of them.
“People said, ‘Oh, if I have to build a company, I guess I’ll have to go to Boston, because that’s the hotbed for biotech and life sciences, and it had been for many years," Hasting recalls. "We wanted to say, ‘No, there’s great reason to build you company in Virginia. It’s cheaper. There is amazing talent. There are many people working in this area, doing this already. We just needed to connect the dots and bring a lot of awareness of opportunities.”
Toward that end, they’ve partnered with Piedmont Virginia Community College or PVCC where Anne Allison directs biotech.
“Scientists and engineers are needed. We also need lab technicians, skilled production workers and quality professionals. Many of those roles start with a certificate or two-year degree. PVCC is where someone can start a bioscience career close to home at a real bargain," Allison explains. "PVCC is also where somebody already working can find skills that employers are looking for and hiring for right now.”
Which is why the community college works closely with pharmaceutical companies and makers of medical devices.
“PVCC stays close to employers so that what we’re teaching matches exactly what they’re hiring for," Allison says.
So far, the BioHub has helped a great range of companies developing everything from male contraception to a new treatment for nerve pain and the next generation of weight-loss drugs.
It recently hosted a conference – From Spark to Scale -- drawing 250 people from around the country and the world – introducing entrepreneurs to bankers, lawyers and places that can provide lab space to develop their products.
Looking ahead, the CvilleBioHub is planning a $15 million expansion – collaborating with similar enterprises in Richmond, Roanoke and Blacksburg while working closely with the University of Virginia.
