By Jerry Shottenkirk
As printed in The Journal Record, April 30, 2008.

The newly formed Oklahoma BioScience Association is in its infancy, and in an effort to start off on the right foot, members sought words of advice from those who've been where the organization would like to tread.

On Tuesday, the association's members welcomed representatives of similar organizations from other states in an effort to get off on the right foot.

OKBio was created as a private, not-for-profit statewide membership association with the goal of advancing the bioscience industries through advocacy and other roles.

"This organization was formed within the last six months but it's had a germinating period of several years," said OKBio Chairman Carl Edwards. "It goes back to when the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber first decided to fund a biosciences study by Batelle. We are excited to have a viable organization that (initially) has four years' worth of funding."

Edwards and executive liaison Sheri Stickley hosted the organization's first official open meeting after several organizational gatherings.

C. Robert Eaton, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona BioIndustry Association; Charles Craig, president of Georgia Bio; and Angela Kreps, president of Kansas Bioscience Organization, shared experiences of their state's organizations, which are only a few years old themselves. The group also heard David K. Rosen, head of development and commercial strategic alliances of Pfizer Global Research and Development; and Patrick Kelly, vice president of state government relations for Biotechnology Industry Organization, speak of bioscience experiences.

In an effort to lure more interest, OKBio is giving small businesses 18 months of free membership. Dues range from $200 for individuals and emerging companies to $4,000 for entities that have more than 101 employees, including large service providers, colleges, research institutions and national companies.

"We're soliciting additional funders who haven't participated," Edwards said. "We have the opportunity to be true leaders as we moved forward."

Some of the major backers for OKBio include the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, i2E, Oklahoma Business Roundtable, Oklahoma Commerce, OCAST, Oklahoma State University, Presbyterian Health Foundation, the Noble Foundation, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Warren Foundation.

Edwards said OKBio hopefully will be a boost to biotechnology, the medical device industry, pharmaceuticals, agricultural bio, biofuels, suppliers and service providers and any other related organizations.

The goals are to help the image of the industry, build networks and partners in biosciences, develop a stronger research base, increase availability of investment capital, encourage the commercialization of products, and grow a bioscience-friendly climate for business, he said.

Kreps said KansasBio is only four years old and has grown to a board that has four committees and has seven programs of public policy and education.

Eaton said the Arizona BioIndustry Association is strictly a trade association. He said the first of many goals is to represent the industry in front of the state Legislature and "be a collective voice of bioscience companies in Arizona."

The Arizona group also aims to anchor events such as conferences and regional and special gatherings, and due to the size of that state, it has multi-site breakfasts linked by video. Eaton said efforts to reach out to all corners of the state have been beneficial and he urged Oklahoma to do the same.

Craig said GeorgiaBio has grown to 330 members over three years. He's seen the membership grow by 40 percent. GeorgiaBio will host the 2009 BIO International Convention in Atlanta.

Craig said the group grew by engaging in four business areas - advocacy, education, business development and economic development. In a matter of five years, Georgia's life sciences industry has grown to include 270 companies and 15,000 employees with an average salary of $61,500.

This article appeared in The Journal Record, www.journalrecord.com, on April 30, 2008.