PRBio Tech Hubs gets $500K award from federal government
The designated Tech Hub is led by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.
The PRBio Tech Hub has been awarded a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award from the administration of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). This funding will help implement a Tech Hub strategy focused on Puerto Rico’s biopharma sector.
The Tech Hubs Program’s Consortium Accelerator Awards (CAA) will enable PRBio Tech Hub to continue building momentum in the development of a globally competitive and resilient biopharmaceutical ecosystem, officials said.
Led by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, PRBio Tech Hub collaborates with consortium members, including the Trust’s P18 and Research Institute, the University of Puerto Rico’s (UPR) Molecular Center and College of Pharmacy.
Additional partners include Bright Paths Labs, Ocyonbio, DDEC, Invest PR, PR5G Zone, Industry University Research Center Inc. (Induniv), and more than 20 other companies, nonprofits and higher education institutions.
“Our designation as a Tech Hub demonstrates that we have the assets required to be a resilient global biopharma powerhouse poised to address the demand for essential medicines with the level of quality and collaboration required to ensure national security,” said David Gulley, executive director of the research trust’s Technology Transfer Office.
In October 2023, the research trust was chosen as one of 32 entities to participate in the 2023 Tech Hubs Designee and Strategy Development grant program, as reported by News is my Business.
The Tech Hubs Program was authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law in August 2022. The statute authorized $10 billion for the program over five years, and to date, the EDA has appropriated $541 million for the program.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is working to build world-class ecosystems across the nation that will advance America’s global leadership in technologies of the future, catalyze the creation of good jobs, and strengthen U.S. national and economic security,” said Alejandra Y. Castillo, assistant secretary of commerce for Economic Development.
“These Consortium Accelerator Awards demonstrate the level of excellence every designee embodies and will enable Tech Hubs to not only keep up their momentum, but also leverage their coveted designation to attract additional collaboration and capital,” she added.
The program aims to support regional efforts to scale up the production of critical technologies, such as semiconductors, quantum computing, autonomous systems, biotechnology, clean energy, critical minerals, innovative materials and advanced manufacturing.
