While traditional health-care services have long been a major component of local employment, the broader bioscience cluster, which includes future-oriented industry, research, education and provider services, is projected to be a major growth area in upcoming decades.

To assure that this area is positioned to attract this emerging business market, BioFlorida, in partnership with the Lee County Office of Economic Development and other economic development organizations in the region, has launched a Southwest Florida chapter, its sixth in the state.

More than 10 years ago, BioFlorida was just a small organization with a big idea: to create a vehicle for the voices of Florida's bioscience industry. At the time, the bioscience sector, particularly in Florida, was merely a fledgling industry. We've come a long way since then, with the state putting some significant investment in businesses in the bioscience sector. Companies such as Scripps Research Institute, Burnham Institute, Max Planck, SRI International, M2Gen, and Torrey Pines Institute have seen multimillion-dollar investments at the local and state level and given notice that Florida is a highly competitive contender in attracting bioscience companies.

The mission of BioFlorida is to be the voice of the industry by focusing on creating and maintaining a favorable business and legislative environment as well as advancing the commercialization of research. The Southwest Florida chapter, which includes Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties, will serve as the central communications conduit for networking, recruiting, training and information, as well as a link to statewide efforts.

There are 25 well-established bioscience companies in the region, as well as the recently announced regional research park near the Southwest Florida International Airport. The potential for expanding this network and infrastructure is enormous.

The resources necessary to support growth within this industry segment are already in place in Southwest Florida. Foremost are the academic institutions, particularly Florida Gulf Coast University - with an established bioengineering program - and Edison College - with a well-regarded allied health training program. In fact, FGCU's recent research program on combatting global biological weapons, funded by a U.S. Department of Defense grant, has been awarded high praise not only for its results, but also for its role as a future indicator of sustainable economic diversity.