UAMS BioVentures Gets $25,000 From Fifty for the Future

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – Fifty for the Future, a group of central Arkansas business leaders, has donated $25,000 to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) BioVentures program.


 


BioVentures is eligible for $25,000 a year for three additional years, pending annual reviews by Fifty for the Future, which identifies, develops and supports projects and policies that will have significant long-term positive impact on the Metro Little Rock Region.


 


The donation will help pay for completing additional labs and offices in unfinished space in the BioVentures building to accommodate future demand.


 


UAMS BioVentures is responsible for helping UAMS researchers get their products into the marketplace. For example, BioVentures assists startup companies trying to develop marketable products using UAMS discoveries. Lab, office and meeting space is provided to startup companies in the BioVentures building, which opened four years ago.


 


In 2002, Fifty for the Future donated $100,000 to support construction of the BioVentures building.


 


“Our state-of-the-art UAMS BioVentures building wouldn’t be here without the strong financial support of private-sector donors like Fifty for the Future,” said Michael Douglas, Ph.D., director of the BioVentures Program. “Their support has made it possible for us to build a resource that’s unique in the medical and life science community and a real difference maker for Arkansas’ economy.”


 


Through the efforts of BioVentures, UAMS-generated products have led to the establishment of companies with 316 jobs, a total annual payroll today of $15.7 million and salaries that average $49,638 a year. BioVentures’ mission also includes negotiating licenses of UAMS intellectual property primarily to pharmaceutical companies that use the research to develop new disease treatments.


 


“We are excited about the opportunity to continue our support of UAMS BioVentures,” said Byron Eiseman, president of Fifty for the Future. “The BioVentures program has proved its value to Arkansas as a significant generator of companies with highly skilled, high-paying jobs.”


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,430 students and 715 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,400 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.