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Biotech tour will feature area industries

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

About 60 to 70 business executives, state officials and politicians, local officials and university educators will spend a couple of days in the area this week, touring two biotech companies and networking.

The Iowa Biotechnology Association (IowaBio) and the Charles City Area Development Corp. (CCADC) are hosting a tour of Valent Biosciences in Osage on Wednesday and a tour of Zoetis in Charles City on Thursday.

The group will gather for a social reception Wednesday evening at the Pub on the Cedar and spend the night in Charles City.

“This will bring a lot of professional, technical and scientific people to town,” said Tim Fox, CCADC executive director. “It shows our strength in the biosciences.”

Joe Hrdlicka, executive director of IowaBio, said his group has for several years been making about a trip a year to visit biotechnology companies around the state.

“We try to identify areas where we have a cluster of industry available to tour,” Hrdlicka said. “Zoetis has been an active member of ours, and we’re familiar with Valent as a newer member. Our organization is based in Des Moines, so we really use this as an opportunity to get out around the state and see companies not based in central Iowa.

“Whether it’s pharma, chemical, nutraceutical or fermentation, this region is a biotech center,” Hrdlicka said.

In additional to professional and technical members of IowaBio, the tour also attracts members of academia, usually from Iowa State and the University of Iowa; state officials and representatives and senators; local officials such as county supervisors and city council members; and other business and industry representatives.

“It’s a really good cross-section,” Hrdlicka said. “There is a lot of opportunity for collaboration and partnerships in our industry. And there will be a lot of people in economic development. This gives them an opportunity to meet potential partners.”

Locally, the benefit to the community is showing off biotechnology capabilities in front of a very influential audience, he said. IowaBio members have proven very receptive to partnering with and working with other tech companies in the state.

The group will tour Valent BioSciences in Osage beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The welcome reception will be at the Pub from 5 to 7 p.m. The Zoetis tour will begin about 9 a.m. Thursday after a group breakfast.

The event will conclude with lunch at the Floyd County Fairgrounds, with speaker Pamela Stoops, the site leader at Zoetis.

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