A life-sciences coalition comprised of Georgia companies, universities and economic-development agencies on June 28 is set to link up with a similar organization in China.
The Innovation Crescent Regional Partnership, an effort to market the life sciences assets in a 12-county area stretching from Atlanta to Athens, will sign an agreement with the Wuhan National Bio-Industry Base, or Biolake, at a trade show in Washington.
Biolake is a biotechnology park in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province. The organizations will share information and will help facilitate trade and investment in their respective regions.
Biolake has already helped one Georgia company, which showed the value of a relationship with the group, said Nick Masino, who chairs the Innovation Crescent.
Mr. Masino, also vice president of economic development for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, met Biolake officials at the 2010 BIO International Convention in Chicago. He later led Gwinnett-based North America Bioproducts Corp. to China in an effort to find partners. Biolake helped the company set up important meetings, he said.
Tying up with Biolake also makes sense given that it’s based in Hubei province, Mr. Masino said. Georgia already has ties with the province through Chinamex, a business-development company that showcases Hubei products in an Atlanta showroom.
“You can’t focus on all of China. You have to focus on certain provinces to be successful and to get depth,” Mr. Masino told GlobalAtlanta.
The Innovation Crescent is sharing a Georgia Pavilion with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Atlanta Development Authority and other groups this week at the annual BIO summit.
The development authority will spend time at the conference highlighting Ft. McPherson, the U.S. Army base in south Atlanta that will fall into the city’s hands after it closes in September.
Plans call for turning at least some of the the 488-acre site into a science and technology center. The development could create 3.5 million square feet of lab, office, medical and conference space, according to a news release.
For more information about the Innovation Crescent, click here.
Click here to find out more about Biolake.
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