Birmingham Biotechnology Hub receives about $44 million in federal funding
The initiative is led by the Southern Research Institute, drawing on resources like the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s world-leading data bank.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced this week that it plans to award approximately $210 million in implementation grants, ranging between approximately $22 million and $48 million, to six “Tech Hub” designees as part of a new round of funding from Congress, and one of those is in a neighboring state.
The Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, led by the Southern Research Institute, aims to become a global leader in drug, vaccine, and diagnostics development by applying artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology to increase diverse representation in clinical genomic data and clinical trials.
According to the announcement, tThis “Tech Hub” will leverage the region’s existing assets — including the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s world-leading data bank from patients of racially diverse populations — to increase representation in clinical genomic data and clinical trials and accelerate drug discovery and development. By applying the power of AI and more globally representative patient data, the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub seeks to shorten the drug development pipeline and deliver affordable drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics that treat a diverse global patient population.
According to the announcement, the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub will receive grant funding of approximately $44 million to implement five projects, including:
- Creating a first-of-its-kind genomic biobank that enables accessible precision medicine to improve public health outcomes, accelerate drug development, foster substantial clinical trial investment, and anchor the national bioeconomy by leveraging trusted relationships to connect patient genomes, other forms of personalized medical data, and clinical data to drive clinical trial representation in Black and rural communities.
- Establishing a backbone organization to anchor and develop Alabama’s first Innovation District, ensuring mission alignment between diverse stakeholders and evaluating progress, implementing nimble and responsive risk management protocols to safeguard intellectual property and patient health information, and continuing to raise additional partnerships and capital for the Hub.
- Connecting industry, scientific experts, and regulators to advance the maturation and validation of Therapeutics Acceleration Platforms (TAPs) which will accelerate the development of new precision medicines, drug repurposing, technologies for predictive safety testing, and enhance U.S. global competitiveness in the biotechnology industry.
- Designing, testing, and refining a series of sub-baccalaureate workforce training programs that will place target populations in quality biotechnology jobs over the next five years based on clear, employer-driven workforce training priorities for biotech jobs in the region.
- Forming a multi-HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) workforce training collaboration to rapidly expand access to a large suite of micro-credentials coupled with in-person, work-based learning opportunities within the biotech sector.
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