A recent press release from the University of Wisconsin highlights several start up companies that have spun off of the biomedical research underway at the UW System.  Research focusing on stem cells and regenerative medicine are an important part of this effort.  The release notes that 35% of the University’s professors work in the field of life sciences, a concentration that fosters collaboration and business formation.  As put by Professor Emeritus Richard Burgess:

“We are unique because we have colleges of medicine and agriculture, and schools of pharmacy, veterinary medicine and nursing. The college of engineering has a significant biological focus. Because we have strengths in all the major disciplines, brainstorming here can lead to fundamentally new ideas and research collaborations[.]“

Six Wisconsin biomedical companies are profiled in the release: Flugen, Third Wave Technologies, Stratatech Corporation, Cellular Dynamics International, Conjugon, Inc., and Isomark.  The University estimates that the total annual benefit to the Wisconsin economy from private companies building off of University-related scientific research (biomedical as well as other fields) is $2 billion.

The press release can be viewed here:

http://www.news.wisc.edu/19280