COVER STORY

As the Market Research and Information Analyst of the New Hampshire Office of International Commerce, Paula is responsible for assisting New Hampshire companies with seeking international trade opportunities, export logistics and documentation issues. Amy Root-Donle photo

No need to employ Michael J. Fox, the movie star with Parkinson's disease and a staunch research advocate, to tout the importance of biotechnology in the Seacoast.

Maine and New Hampshire are home to an array of national and international companies, some dedicated to finding the next cure and others committed to protecting public health and the environment.

The industry employs thousands with more than 50 companies in each state, according to a national biotechnology center funded by the National Science Foundation. And some of the larger facilities, such as Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth, are expanding and will create hundreds of new jobs.

"Biotech's going gangbusters," said Sonia Wallman, director of the New Hampshire Biotechnology Education and Training Center at the New Hampshire Community Technical College at Pease International Tradeport. "We are entering a bio-based economy."

The biotech buzz has Maine and New Hampshire competing with other Northeastern states for business. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, at a major conference in Boston in May, announced a $1 billion initiative to boost biotechnology. As other states prepare similar measures, Maine and New Hampshire are stepping it up to showcase the states as bio-friendly.

The Biotechnology Association of Maine this spring applauded Maine Gov. John Baldacci for initially proposing a bond package with $131 million targeting the biotechnology sector, including biomedical and marine research.

"Research and development dollars provide a foundation for job growth and for people to relocate or stay in this state," Baldacci said in a statement. "It provides opportunities — not only for employment, but for technological breakthroughs and new businesses."

The bond package, as revised, will be a $55 million referendum heading to a statewide ballot vote in Maine this November. The funds would also be open to other technology sectors, not just biotechnology, including aquaculture and marine technology, environmental technology and precision manufacturing.

"It's a competitive process open to all tech sectors," said Tucker Kimball, spokesman for the Maine Technology Institute.

Sonia Wallman, (seated), Director of the Bio-Tech Ed Center at Pease with faculty and staff members of her NHCTC BioTechnology Department. Amy Root-Donle photo

New Hampshire is taking additional steps to attract, retain and create technology and manufacturing companies. Michael Vlacich, New Hampshire state director of economic development, said the state aims to expand its tool box of incentives with a new $1 million permanent job training fund and a proposed research and development tax credit. Both measures are winning legislative support. Gov. John Lynch is also championing the tax credit as a way to foster economic growth.

Other incentives include a job creation tax credit to support economic growth and revitalization, said Vlacich, who also cited the efforts to keep New Hampshire a business-friendly state and preserve a high quality of life.

"We believe in diversifying our economic base," he said.

The state is deliberate in targeting smaller biotechnology and medical technology companies, including efforts to recruit entrepreneurs.

Recent events indicate the strategy is successful. This year, Lonza launched its estimated $300 million addition and Stryker Biotech in Lebanon, N.H., began a $100 million expansion. Stryker Biotech manufactures osteogenic protein, a protein involved in skeletal tissue repair and regeneration.

New Hampshire's list of biotechnology companies includes Bentley Pharmaceuticals of Exeter, Bio Express Inc. of West Lebanon, GlycoFi of Lebanon, and Millipore Corp. of Jaffrey.

Maine's list includes Bioprocessing Inc. of Portland, IDEXX Laboratory in Portland, Phylogix LLC in Scarborough, Biotechnology Services in Portland, and the Marine Aquaculture Innovation Center in Orono.

Wallman, at New Hampshire's Biotechnology Education and Training Center, said the region's biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are definitely increasing their employment to keep pace with demand. As the bigger companies soar, numerous smaller firms are operating almost as a feeder economy in some form of service or subcontract. There is a considerable cluster effect, noticeable in each state.

"When that happens you start to get these new smaller technology companies," said Paula Newton, president of the New Hampshire Biotechnology Council, which was established in 1999.

The Biotechnology Education and Training Center continues to provide incumbent worker training for companies, including an estimated 150 employees from nearby Lonza, according to Wallman.

Biotech will take center stage this month for what is billed as "BIOMAN," a weeklong conference for biotech educators from across the country to share best practices and promote opportunities for workers and partnership possibilities for biotechnology companies.

The conference, which begins July 22, is hosted by the New Hampshire Community Technical College System and sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Northeast Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative. It will feature a special presentation by the director of InnovaBIO, a company within Salt Lake Community College established to enhance student education through corporate internships. Other keynote speaker scheduled include representatives from GlycoFi-Merck in Lebanon, N.H., and the Cambridge-based Green Fuel, for a discussion on the use of microalgae to scrub power plant emissions.

Wallman said the biomarine technology, from scrubbing pollution to finding cures, is an exciting sector.

The New Hampshire center at Pease — just down the road from Lonza — was established in 1994. Maine is expanding its learning opportunities as well. Southern Maine Community College in South Portland launched a biotechnology program in 2005 to help students interested in pursuing employment or an advanced degree in biotechnology.

The competition for the next best drug, research or solution is getting public support, too. Voters in Maine, for example, approved a $8 million fund for biomedical research.