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Drug maker might build lab at USF campus

Accentia, the company behind the proposed $80-million center, makes cancer-fighting vaccines.

By JAMES THORNER
Published September 22, 2006

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Inc. has chosen the University of South Florida for a proposed $80-million cancer vaccine laboratory, a move that could create 300 high-paying jobs.

Accentia cited USF's scientific talent pool, as well as the proximity of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, as reasons for building a 120,000-square-foot lab in North Tampa. The company revealed its vaccine manufacturing plans in January, but it hadn't publicized a location.

Accentia, through its subsidiary BioVest International, is about two years from marketing BiovaxID, a drug to combat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. As it awaits approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company is conducting clinical trials in places such as Moffitt.

Local officials praised the investment as a step toward making the Tampa Bay area a bioresearch hub. If the drug succeeds, Accentia could open more labs on the site.

"What it says is, we are already established in biotechnology and bioscience, and we are attracting businesses," USF president Judy Genshaft said. "Moffitt and USF are jewels for this state and this community."

The company is pursuing state incentives, including tapping the $10.5-million USF is seeking to open a "Center of Excellence" in biomolecular medicine. It would also feast on Qualified Target Industry tax credits, a state program that awards companies up to $3,000 for each job created.

"These are all high-end jobs - scientists, clinicians, Ph.D.s, people with master's," Accentia chief financial officer Jim McNulty said. "There's very little low end."

[Last modified September 22, 2006, 00:03:32]