A group of Wisconsin partners is seeking a “regional tech hub” designation from federal officials focused on personalized medicine and biohealth technology.
According to yesterday’s announcement from the consortium of 15 public and private sector organizations, this designation by the federal Economic Development Administration could result in between $50 million and $75 million coming to the state. Those federal funds would be authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the release shows.
In a statement on the application, Gov. Tony Evers says establishing this tech hub would “only further advance our state’s standing as a leader” in biohealth and personalized medicine, while also supporting jobs, economic growth and research.
“The creation of the consortium and the application to EDA for RTH designation was all made possible by strong public and private partnerships and government at every level, and I look forward to seeing this work continue,” Evers said.
Consortium members are largely clustered in the Madison and Milwaukee areas, the release shows. These include: WEDC, UW System Administration, UW-Madison, GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation, Exact Sciences, BioForward Wisconsin, Employ Milwaukee, Accuray, Plexus, WRTP Big Step, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Madison Area Technical College, MadREP and Milwaukee7.
These partners say the tech hub approval and funding would support improved data sharing, better alignment between supply chains and the manufacturing sector, greater capital access for startups, more lab space, coordinated workforce strategies and other benefits.
Meanwhile, the designation would also “provide new opportunities to improve care” for patients, including putting a greater focus on underserved communities, partners say. They plan to create a Patient Advisory Group to weigh in on research and product development decisions.
Yesterday’s release also hypes the potential for personalized medicine, which leverages the latest medical technologies such as advanced imaging, artificial intelligence and genomics to cater treatments to specific patients. Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes calls it “one of the most dramatic advances” in medical care, noting the state is at the forefront of this field.
“We owe it to the people of our state – and the world — to continue to build on that momentum,” she said.
See the release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wisconsin-establishes-consortium-to-expand-its-lead-in-biohealth-301902692.html
