Boulder Valley Hotbed of medical device innovation

The Boulder Valley has a worldwide reputation, and it isn't for its lure of outdoor enthusiasts who like to hike, bike, climb and run. It's a reputation for developing devises that can enhance the health and well-being of those enthusiasts along with their less active counterparts.

Bioscience Grows Best at High Altitude

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is committed to growing Colorado’s bioscience industry. Colorado is home to more than 400 bioscience companies with nearly 15,000 employees employed within the state. According to Ernst & Young, in 2005 Colorado’s companies received $647 million in funding, with $164.7 million of that going into the bioscience industry. Colorado consistently ranks among the top states as a place to live and succeed in business. This article provides additional information on Colorado's rankings and financial assistance opportunities.

A Brief History of Boulder Biotech

In the early 1970s, neither the city nor county of Boulder had a biotech cluster in its master plan for future economic development. The Biotech industry started with the inventors, all University of Colorado professors. Their collective gift as research scientists with the enthusiasm for a new model of drug discovery and the drive to create new companies in Boulder around their ideas started an industry. The combination of established public companies, a world-class research university, renowned entrepreneurial faculty, an experienced technology transfer office and the highest quality of life in the country has created an excellent platform for pharmaceutical development. Now in its third decade of development and its third generation of companies, the future for biotech in Boulder appears bright.

Small Companies Fighting Small Bugs

Infectious diseases kill 15 million people a year, and are the leading cause of death in developing nations. But until recently, U.S. pharmaceutical companies found little profit in vaccines, antibiotics and related drugs. Vaccines are costly to produce but have low profit margins. Sometimes the actual number of doses used is small, while the potential for pandemic is large. Often the afflicted live in countries too poor to buy drugs, or in spots too remote to store refrigerated products.

Fitzsimmons Development

A unique development is changing the landscape of the Colorado bioscience industry. The transformation of the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, located in the heart of Aurora, Colorado, into a state-of-the-art, integrated life sciences city for the 21st century is well underway. With its concentration of exceptional talent, extraordinary facilities, and vision for collaboration and resource sharing, Fitzsimons is evolving into one of the most advanced scientific communities in the world. Led by the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, the Fitzsimons site is undergoing a $4.3-billion transformation into a square mile dedicated to excellence in patient care, education, basic science research, and bioscience research and development. Over 5,000 people are already employed at Fitzsimons.

Growth of Colorado's 2nd Generation Biotech Lab Space

While biopharmaceutical companies have a presence throughout the Front Range, Northwest Denver has developed into the most defined cluster. One of the most positive recent developments stemming from the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry in Colorado has been the increasing supply of second generation biotech lab space and the leasing of second-generation lab space by companies new to Colorado. The supply of second-generation lab space has been concentrated in the Northwest Denver biotech cluster. Of the 200,000 square feet of recent absorption, three of the four transactions, totally 53,000 square feet, involved the leasing of second generation lab space.

21st Century Medicine: Pulmonlogy/Immunology

It began as a medical myth: tuberculosis patients in the 1890s believed Denver’s abundant sunshine and dry air would cure them. Of course it wasn't true, but as patients flocked to the area, hospitals arose that now rank amongst the world’s premiere respiratory centers. In recent years, National Jewish has attracted $40 million to $50 million in grants annually. A quarter of its funds come from industry, and licensing deals have grown each year.

Colorado Companies Tackle Cancer

A cure for cancer is the Holy Grail of modern medicine. But so far, despite more than a half century of research and a handful of incremental successes, researchers have yet to make a giant breakthrough. The scope of the problem is clear: cancer is the No. 2 killer of Americans, second only to cardiac disease, taking 500,000 lives a year. And the incidence of cancer is rising in developing nations as people live longer, making cancer a truly global disease. More than a half dozen Colorado firms at work on cancer treatments.

Taking Colorado's Pulse

In 2005 publicly traded Myogen announced encouraging clinical trial results for its two most advanced candidates, ambrisentan and darusentan. The drugs treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and resistant hypertension, respectively. Myogen is among a handful of firms in Colorado working on treatments for heart diseases, broadly speaking. Some, such as Spectranetics, have long marketed products. Others are in the early stages of venture funding.

Colorado's Active Lifestyle Leads to Orthopedics Cluster

Colorado is home to some of the world’s best snow skiing, backpacking and marathon races. And so youngsters and baby boomers alike flock to the state in order to race down winter slopes and clamber to alpine meadows. But at the end of a weekend’s fun, hospitals and sports medicine clinics see the consequences: torn cartilage, worn joints, herniated disks. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Colorado is also home to a handful of companies working to improve common orthopedic procedures such as knee realignment, hip replacement and spinal fusion surgeries. These businesses are poised to tap into the tremendous growth in orthopedic surgeries due to the aging U.S. population.