Friday, June 20, 2008

Governor Announces at BIO New Funds to Support High Tech Business in Kentucky


Continuing from the BIO conference in San Diego...

Governor Steve Beshear announced yesterday a new round of funding for the state’s highly successful Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. The matching funds program is unique to Kentucky. The announcement came as the governor hosted a reception at the BIO International Conference in San Diego.

“This is an excellent opportunity to talk with companies about what Kentucky has to offer and give them the news that we are ready to match, dollar for dollar federal SBIR and STTR grants,” said Gov. Beshear. “This means that small, high-tech companies in Kentucky, and those who are looking to relocate to our state, can potentially double their federal grant awards. We’ve already seen the positive results of this program with more than $7 million awarded to 31 companies. Obviously, Kentucky is backing up its commitment to research and development with money, not just talk.”

Many of the companies that Owensboro is cultivating in the plant biotech cluster being built around Kentucky BioProcessing, including Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Intrucept, will be eligible to apply for the new funds.

“These are the types of companies and jobs that we are actively seeking as we talk with groups here in San Diego,” said Gov. Beshear. “In economically difficult times like we face today, Kentucky must seek a more diverse workforce and the companies that bring these jobs here. Companies like Alltech, with its recently opened Center for Animal Nutrigenomics, Kentucky BioProcessing in Owensboro, Coldstream Laboratories, Advanced Cancer Therapeutics, Scout Diagnostics and many others are great examples of how Kentucky can move forward in the bio-tech field.”

More information about Kentucky's SBIR-STTR Matching Funds, which is funded by the Cabinet for Economic Development's Department of Commercialization and Innovation, and other business support programs, is available online at: www.ThinkKentucky.com/dci/sbir1.


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