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Hillsborough eager to lure bioscience companies

Commissioners vote to investigate setting aside as much as $5-million to be used for company incentives.

By BILL VARIAN
Published March 16, 2006

TAMPA - Hillsborough County commissioners want to create financial incentives tailored to recruit bioscience companies, piggybacking on a key push of statewide economic development efforts.

Commissioners voted 6-0 Wednesday to investigate setting aside up to $5-million to be used largely as start-up money for companies interested in operating in Hillsborough. The county will spend 60 days devising a plan for how the money could be spent, and what it would expect from companies that tap it.

Mark Sharpe, the commissioner behind the effort, said the sum is not particularly large in incentive terms, but sends a message that the county is open to investment by companies such as pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers.

"It's what we can do," Sharpe said. "It puts us on the map."

County officials acknowledged some urgency in crafting the plan: They said they are actively recruiting a bioscience company now, but declined to provide a name or any details other than to say the company currently has a presence in Hillsborough.

Earlier this year, the chief financial officer of Accentia Biopharmaceutical Inc., a drug development firm, confirmed his company is seeking incentives to build a $30-million plant here within three years, but is also evaluating a move to St. Louis.

Bruce Register, the county's economic development director, declined to confirm whether Accentia is the company in question.

"The company we're dealing with has requested that the project be confidential," Register said. "They do already have a local presence. Beyond that, I can't say anything else."

Accentia does already have a presence in Hillsborough, entering the market in 2002 through the purchase of Tampa mail-order pharmacy Accent RX.

Sharpe began exploring an incentive program for bioscience companies as the state was recruiting the Scripps biomedical research company, before it decided to build in Palm Beach. He said he realized the county had little to offer in terms of incentives to make a competitive bid.

Most of the state and county's current incentive programs focus on tax breaks. Bioscience companies often are more interested in start-up money they can use to buy sometimes costly equipment or turn the fruits of university research into a product that can be sold.

"Our biggest weakness is that our standard, off-the-shelf offer we have does not match up with biotech," county Economic Development Director Gene Gray told commissioners.

Sharpe said the money could be used as matching funds with other state programs, especially if the governor is successful in creating a $75-million state incentive pool, which he has proposed as part of his budget. It could be paired up with money from venture capitalists, too, Sharpe said.

He billed the effort as a collaborative project, expressing hope the city of Tampa will join the county in setting aside incentive money. University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft urged commissioners to support the proposal, saying the school has space at its research park.

"We strongly support Commissioner Sharpe's proposal," she said. "It'll make all the difference."

Commissioner Brian Blair voiced some reservations, saying he would like to hear a detailed business plan that ensures the money is spent wisely. He still voted for it, saying he supports the concept.

To show he wasn't panning the idea, he said such an analysis could show that the pool of money should be greater. The 60-day analysis before the county approves setting aside the money appeared to satisfy him.

"We cannot afford to miss a beat on this," he said, "because we're responsible to the taxpayers on how we spend their money."

If commissioners ultimately approve the plan, the county would use money it gets from the state, primarily sales tax money handed down to local governments in revenue sharing programs.

The county now uses that money to pay off debt and fund other local government services. But County Management and Budget Director Eric Johnson said that the county has enough of the revenue-sharing money in reserve to make a one-time payment to kick start the incentive program .

[Last modified March 16, 2006, 02:00:27]