USF Research Park Companies Earn Governor’s Awards

TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2009) – Two tenants of the USF Research Park of Tampa Bay received the Governor’s Business Diversification Award on Tuesday for their exceptional contributions toward statewide economic diversification through job creation, community involvement and investment.

The two are among 20 businesses statewide recognized by Gov. Charlie Crist during an awards luncheon in Tallahassee. The winners were also acknowledged during Florida’s yearly Industry Appreciation Week (Sept. 14-18), which promotes outstanding accomplishments made by the state’s businesses.

Biotechnology company Intezyne Technologies is recognized in the category of Entrepreneurship for its work on advanced drug delivery systems for new and existing medicines, including creating new technology to allow anti-cancer drugs to attack the tumor without damaging healthy tissues. The company relocated to Tampa from Boston in 2004 and was one of the founding companies in USF’s Technology Incubator. They continue to be an important asset in building the Tampa Bay area’s biotechnology sector.

Draper Laboratory was lauded in the Newcomer category for its BioEngineering research and development center at USF’s research park. The center works in partnership with USF faculty in the application of new technologies to medical and biological problems. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are miniature mechanical devices – often smaller than a human hair - built using semiconductor manufacturing techniques and could be used for disease detection and treatment.

Both companies are affiliates in USF CONNECT, designed to foster entrepreneurship in the Tampa Bay region in the biotechnology and life science sector.

“The presence of these companies demonstrates that great universities can make great business partners,” said Rod Casto, associate vice president for economic development for USF’s Office of Research & Innovation. “This recognition by the governor validates efforts at USF to create value through innovation and workforce development.”

The University of South Florida System is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF was awarded $380.4 million in research contracts and grants in FY 2008/2009. The system offers 232 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. It has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 47,000 students on institutions/campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.