Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Building a biotech research institute in Palm Beach County would have a profound impact on Florida's economy, according to a study commissioned by Gov. Jeb Bush.
Within 15 years, the study says, the Scripps Research Institute would employ 2,800 high-paid workers and create other businesses with 3,700 jobs. Florida's $310-million investment would yield $1.8-billion in new wages and tax revenue, a return of $6 for every $1 invested.
And if Palm Beach is anything like Scripps' home base of San Diego, the study adds, the new research center could attract up to 500 biotech companies with 37,800 employees and generate an additional $6.4-billion.
But just how large, widespread, and swift the economic impact would be is subject to debate.
Scripps' growth might not be rapid. Its game plan for the Palm Beach institute is to hire 30 employees the first year, and 545 by its seventh. Still, work on its $140-million campus would immediately create jobs in the construction trades. And the group's stellar research status - it receives more grant money from the National Institutes of Health than any other - would give it an early edge.
The idea that Scripps could attract 500 companies is based on the assumption that Palm Beach is comparable to La Jolla, where Scripps is headquartered.
"We anticipate that (Scripps') success in developing a biotech industry cluster in San Diego can be duplicated in Florida, and at a quicker pace," the Washington Economics Group wrote in its report. J. Antonio Villamil is CEO of the Coral Gables company and chairs the governor's Council of Economic Advisers.
Both Palm Beach and La Jolla are oceanfront communities with mild climates, fancy stores and stately homes. But the study's suggestion that Scripps is the primary reason 500 biotech companies have set up shop in San Diego is "probably an exaggeration," said Julie Meier Wright, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.
Scripps is one of roughly a half-dozen "world-class research institutions" clustered together, including the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. "I think it's the total package, as opposed to any one institution," Wright said.
Paul Hassie of the biotech trade group BioFlorida Inc. said Tampa Bay area businesses and universities will benefit. "Somebody else might hit the home run, but you're still going to benefit in a regional manner."
- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.