Blueprint for an Innovation Economy in Florida Research as Economic Foundation | Page 18

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
In the story of Muir and
AxoGen lies one such
example. The company is
part of an emerging cluster
of enterprises operating in
regenerative medicine. 34
In addition to AxoGen,
there are four other public
companies in Alachua
County. 35
Name Sector
Applied Genetic
Technologies Corporation Therapeutics
AxoGen Biological Devices
Exactech Med Device, Biological Devices
Oragenics Therapeutics, Animal Health Care
Quick-Med Technologies
Therapeutics, Biological
Devices, Industrial
RTI Surgical Biological Devices
*Source: http://sidmartinbio.org/database/
There are also seven private companies in the
area for a total of 12 in the cluster. According to
the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, 36 there
are approximately 700 companies working in the
field globally. Gainesville and Alachua County
has almost 2 percent of the world’s regenerative
medicine companies and less than 4/1000’s of
1 percent of the world’s population. Clearly this
is a pocket of excellence for the Gainesville MSA
and Florida.
The Florida Legislature, the University of
Florida, Santa Fe College and the area’s
economic development organizations have
vested significant resources, over many
years, to ensure this success. The cluster will
continue to expand because of the significant
intellectual infrastructure, regional coordination
and cooperation aimed at enhancing the area’s
people, ideas and capital resources.
OPTICS AND PHOTONICS
In Central Florida, optics and photonics have a
significant presence and are identified by the
Florida High Tech Corridor as a key industry in the
Central Florida region. Anchoring that industry
is the University of Central Florida’s Center for
Research and Education in Optics and Lasers,
a program created with the support of the then
Speaker of the Florida House (Congressman
Dan Webster), the university and the regional
economic development team.
According to Corridor data, there are more than
100 optics and photonics companies in the
area, employing over 23,000 people. 37 In a 2015
presentation at their Photonics West tradeshow,
the international society for optics and photonics
16
(SPIE) noted that there are 2,750 photonics
companies worldwide. 38 With almost 4 percent
of the cluster’s companies and only 3/100’s of 1
percent of the world’s population, Orlando is an
optics powerhouse.
Again, here we find a convergence of support for
intellectual infrastructure that works in concert
with local and regional economic development
professionals to create clusters. As an enabling
component for many of today’s most advanced
technologies ranging from communications,
computing, medicine to sensors, the investments
in intellectual infrastructure should serve the
region well as it seeks to attract and create
additional high tech STEM jobs.