Sometimes we have to be reminded of what we take for granted. The holiday season always seems like an appropriate enough time.
A little perspective, then, on the University of South Florida. Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on at USF that has absolutely nothing to do with the hyper-emotional, overbearing football coach now in the cross hairs of unflattering national publicity.
Just this month we were again reminded of the implications of having a major, research-oriented state university in our midst.
In early December USF announced that it planned to develop a 60,000-square-foot medical training center — including a hotel — and it was zeroing in on the Heights, a 48-acre parcel north of the Hillsborough River. This would be the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. It would target surgeons – internationally – who would come to CAMLS for training and certification in high-tech treatments. Simulators would be the basis of much of that training. It’s a niche USF has been presciently carving out.
The economic ripples, especially during a no-to-slow-growth period, could be significant. Over five years, CAMLS is projected to have a local impact in excess of $240 million. It would create an estimated 600-plus construction jobs and more than 200 permanent positions. Officials also foresee CAMLS as a recruiting magnet that could attract medical-device manufacturers, among others, to the area. It could also serve as a critical Heights’ catalyst for restaurants, retail and residential development. And it would even provide a welcome forum (bond issue) for both city and county officials to collaborate.
Sure, nothing is guaranteed, especially in this economy. But the wherewithal of a major research university to energize its surroundings, while pushing the envelope on high-tech training, is a real-world scenario — not a simulated one.
USF’s “Gatorade”
The CAMLS/Heights news, however, had to share the media spotlight with USF research that could yield the university a blockbuster payoff from its patent on an antidepressant drug. If successful, the promising drug, now known as TC-5214, has the potential to make a significant impact on the $20-billion market for antidepressants.
While trying not to sound giddy about TC-5214’s prospects, USF officials have been caught using the “G” word. Intimating that this could do for USF what Gatorade did for the University of Florida.
Currently, USF has a licensing agreement with Targacept, a North Carolina company that is working with AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant. AstraZeneca recently announced a $200-million investment in Targacept in a joint effort to develop, win FDA approval and market TC-5214. Even bigger investments will follow if development, regulatory and sales markers are met.
USF could strike it rich if milestone payments and royalties max out. (By policy, USF keeps 45 per cent to support its research mission.) But it won’t happen overnight. The clinical-testing process will take at least two years.
But the opportunity and the upside are, well, “Gatorade” huge. And while the USF-Targacept partnership results are not a forgone conclusion, the involvement of AstraZeneca is key. The Big Pharma big shot is not known to lavish nine-figure, initial investments on long-shots.
SRI Synergy
Then last week we were further reminded of USF’s research reach when SRI International unveiled its new, 37,000-square-foot building in downtown St. Petersburg. SRI is the erstwhile Stanford University scientific research institute – and a coup for St. Pete and the Tampa Bay Area.
SRI, which has had a local presence before debuting its new facility, specializes in finding commercial – and national security – applications for maritime research. Current projects include developing better underwater security sensors for protecting ports, such as Tampa’s. Much of SRI’s work is funded by the feds, especially the Department of Homeland Security. It’s expected that SRI will partner with USF on a number of projects.
SRI’s eastward migration was hardly happenstance. Sure, proximity to the U.S. Geological Survey and the NOAA Fisheries Services were inducements. But what put it over the top for SRI was the marine science research reputation of the University of South Florida. SRI’s director, Larry Langebrake, was formerly with USF’s Center for Ocean Technology.
And one more research ripple. Draper Laboratories, an MIT spin-off, was encouraged to set up shop in the Bay Area, in part, by the SRI/USF synergy scenario. Draper now has two facilities in this market: one at USF in Tampa where it does applied research. The other is in St. Petersburg, where it does nanotechnology-related manufacturing.
Sure, these are tough, challenging times. We look at the scary unemployment rates and the downturns in construction and tourism and a tax system seemingly in tatters – and it’s easy to focus on what’s wrong. And hearken back to the way it used to be in the go-go days of inevitable growth.
Then keep in mind the critical role that high tech and innovation must play for this area – and this country – to successfully bridge to tomorrow’s more diversified economy. Universities, because of their charge, and USF because of its niche priorities, are necessarily on the cutting edge.
No, we cannot take USF for granted. Actually, USF — from the looks of what happened this month — won’t let it happen.