According to various sources, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced Thursday that the county will partner with Tech Town and Wayne State University to create the first "stem cell commercialization lab" in Michigan. I am assuming that a commercialization lab is a facility that focuses on turning basic science into salable products - something that the field of stem cell science has yet to see in any significant way.
"Wayne State and its University Research Corridor partners, the University of Michigan and Michigan State, are the greatest medical research assets we have in Michigan, and now we have a chance to share that brainpower with the rest of the world," Ficano told WWJ radio. "TechTown's Stem Cell Commercialization Center will be a place where researchers collaboratively accelerate the development of life-saving drugs, and create high-tech companies that bring those treatments to the global marketplace."
The lab already has a two-year, $2.9 million financial commitment from Wayne County for laboratory construction, equipment and management, and $1.5 million from Wayne State has challenged TechTown to raise matching funds as well.
For those of you who aren't aware of it's existence, Tech Town is a mini Nerd City within Detroit. The research and technology park, was established in 2000 by Wayne County with Wayne State University, General Motors and the Henry Ford Health System. The idea was to stimulate job growth and small-business creation by developing companies in emerging high-technology industries including advanced engineering, life sciences and alternative energy. Thirty-nine businesses currently operate within the twelve-block district. At least four of them specialize in in the biotech sector (one is a law firm).
For more information on Tech Town visit www.techtownwsu.org
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