EDA DAS Visits OKC to Discuss $35M Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster

Members of the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster convened in Oklahoma City on Sept. 21 for a roundtable discussion about the vision of the 40-member coalition funded by a $35 million award through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

September 22, 2022

U.S. Economic Development Administration DAS Visits Oklahoma City to Discuss $35 Million Award to Bolster Biotech Innovation

by Chelsea Julian

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Alvord speaking with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt during the roundtable discussion.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Alvord met with coalition members, including industry and education leaders and community-based organizations, in Oklahoma City on Sept. 21 to celebrate the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster initiative.

Attendees toured the Convergence building and Innovation Hall construction sites in the Oklahoma City Innovation District; the tour was followed by a roundtable discussion of projects that comprise the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster.

In remarks leading off the roundtable discussion, OU President Joseph Harroz, Jr. said, “This Build Back Better Regional Challenge and the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster is the culmination of decades of work that can lead to remarkably better health outcomes and economic prosperity for the state. The critical element is partnership; our researchers will lead four of the six projects, but not a single element will be done alone. …We could not be more thankful for this opportunity.”

The Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster is led by the Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation and is one of 21 recipients of the Economic Development Administration American Rescue Plan Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It is a coalition of more than 40 member organizations, spearheaded by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber alongside the University of Oklahoma, and industry leadership and vision from Echo Investment Capital.

OU President Joseph Harroz, Jr. gave welcome remarks to the roundtable discussion led by Deputy Assistant Secretary Alvord on Sept. 21 in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster representatives discuss the future of the six key projects during the Kickoff Meeting with EDA representatives on Sept. 21, 2022.

Of the total $35 million award for the biotech cluster from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the University of Oklahoma will receive $24.9 million to fund projects to develop a biotech core research and workforce training facility, programming to develop a vibrant regional biotech startup pipeline, and support significant growth for translational drug discovery and early phase clinical trials both at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at the OU Health Sciences Center.

“The partnerships and collaboration bridging academia, industry and community leadership in the Oklahoma City region catalyze more than 25 years of work happening in parallel that has now come together to realize the opportunities to help address health disparities, improve domestic drug discovery, development and patient care in our state, and provide support and training for the workforce needed to support industry growth of this economic sector,” said John Hanak, director of the Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships at OU and the coordinator of OU’s efforts for the biotech cluster.

The purpose of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge award is to expand the region’s biotechnology cluster, bolster domestic resiliency within the biopharmaceutical supply chain, and make the cluster more globally competitive.

The comprehensive $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge funding initiative led by the Economic Development Association is the largest regional economic development competition in decades. It is funded through the American Rescue Plan to make once-in-a-generation investments in high-quality, locally driven economic development strategies that will transform American communities.