GDEcD News
CONTACT:
Alison Tyrer
Georgia Department of Economic Development
404-962-4078
Texas microbiology company moves to Georgia BioBusiness Center
Bacterial Barcodes cites UGA resources, Georgia’s biotechnology environment
ATLANTA, November 21, 2005 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced today that Bacterial Barcodes, Inc., a recognized leader in developing and commercializing innovative microbiology products and tests, will become a resident company of the Georgia BioBusiness Center (GBBC), the biotechnology incubator for the University of Georgia.
“Bacterial Barcodes’ move to Georgia is a significant asset to our state’s growing biosciences industry,” said GDEcD Commissioner Craig Lesser. “Georgia has the right combination of environment, resources, partners and potential client base the company is looking for, and we’re just as excited as they are about the potential here for ground-breaking research and development in microbiology.”
Bacterial Barcodes sells its products worldwide to hospitals for infection control, to pharmaceutical and food manufacturers for quality control, and to numerous government agencies for research and development as well as for studying biothreat pathogens. Its DiversiLab System identifies and tracks the source of bacterial and fungal infections and contamination quickly, accurately and cost-effectively. The company is in the process of relocating from Houston to Athens, a move that brings several high-quality jobs to Georgia.
“We chose Athens partly due to its leading veterinary school, colleges of public health and agriculture, proximity to major medical institutions and the CDC, and quality of life,” said Dr. Mimi Healy, Bacterial Barcodes’ president and CEO. “We very much appreciate the warm welcome Georgia’s scientific community has given us and the efficient way the GBBC eased the complexity of our move. The synergies that exist at the GBBC and in Georgia will increase our access to scientific expertise, facilitating the advance of the company to the next level.”
GDEcD, The University of Georgia and the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) partnered to ensure the necessary resources were made available to secure Bacterial Barcodes’ commitment to move the company to Athens.
“UGA is delighted to work with Bacterial Barcodes as part of our commitment to life sciences economic development in the state, and we look forward to working with the company to assist them with their growth,” said Margaret Wagner Dahl, director of research development and technology alliances for the Georgia BioBusiness Center at UGA. “Both the company and UGA recognize there is a great deal of synergy for collaborative relationships.”
The Georgia Research Alliance, which guides the state’s research-based economic development strategy, will be facilitating collaborative research and development activities with some of the state’s leading researchers as well as providing funds for specific equipment needs to assist the company’s growth.
“The move of Bacterial Barcodes to Georgia is a great example of how building a critical mass of knowledge and facilities can lure great companies to our state,’ said GRA President C. Michael Cassidy. “Our goal is to both lure promising companies to our state and continue to grow our own crop of entrepreneurial scholars like Dr. Healy.”
Bacterial Barcodes Inc. was formed in May 1999 to capitalize on a unique molecular identification and DNA fingerprinting technology known as rep-PCR (Repetitive Sequence-Based Polymerase Chain Reaction). The power of DiversiLab lies in the Web-based automation of the rep-PCR technology, which links bacterial and fungal genotypes to information stored in a database. The rep-PCR technology, universal primers, fingerprint database creation and the combined processes are protected by two U.S. patents held by Baylor College of Medicine and exclusively licensed to the Company for its commercial use worldwide. For more information, visit the Bacterial Barcodes web site at www.bacbarcodes.com.
Founded in 2000, The Georgia BioBusiness Center is a biotechnology business incubation program of The University of Georgia. The BioBusiness Center works primarily with startup bioscience companies with research and technology ties to UGA. The program enables such companies to accelerate their early growth through access to sources of management expertise and state-of-the-art instrumentation. Currently, there are 13 biotechnology companies associated with the center. For further information, visit www.biobusiness.edu.
A model public-private partnership between Georgia universities, business and state government, the Georgia Research Alliance helps build Georgia’s technology-rich economy in three major ways: through attracting Eminent Scholars to Georgia’s research universities; through improving laboratories and equipment at these research universities; and through converting research into products, services and jobs that drive the economy. To learn more about GRA, visit www.gra.org.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For more information, visit www.georgia.org.
# # #