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Building a better bio ecosystem right here > Virginiabio is a statewide trade association advocating for growth in the bio-tech industry and this year its bi-annual conference was held at Hotel Roanoke. During a panel discussion at the THRiVE 2022: conference in late April, panelist Brett Malone, who oversees the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, outlined a vision for downtown Roanoke. Both at the CRC, adjacent to Virginia Tech, and close to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke federal funding will be used to build “wet lab” shared spaces designed to attract bio-tech startups to the region. “Imagine a whole corridor going down Jefferson [Street in downtown Roanoke] with gleaming buildings. Our vision is building a workforce of 20,000 plus, all around life sciences and its possible.” The conference brought together more than 200 biotechnology industry leaders and experts from across the state. Delegate Sam Rasoul greeted attendees and said that politicians from both sides of the aisle are committed to the biotech industry growth
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in the southwest region. Marc Nelson (City of Roanoke Economic Development director) talked about the industry's growth in the region in the past 15 years. Also highlighted was VA Bio-Connect, a statewide consortium supported by a GO Virginia grant and led by virginiabio, designed to stitch together geographically dispersed life sciences hubs and strengthen the competitiveness of Virginia's life sciences ecosystem. So far, five of nine GO regions are connected and are accessible via the VA-Bio Connect web portal. THRiVE 2022 was organized in partnership with Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC), Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP) and Valleys Innovation Council (VIC), as well as the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Carilion Clinic, and VTC Ventures in Roanoke. FBRI executive director Dr. Michael Friedlander and Carilion Clinic President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee were also among the speakers at THRiVE 2022. “One of the things that drives these ecosystems like San Diego, San Francisco and Boston is the community. We can do this here in Roanoke at a fraction of the cost,” said Brett Malone as he participated on a panel hosted by VERGE/RBTC executive director Erin Burcham.
