UR Spins Off Support for High Tech Business

(Rochester, N.Y.) --  Rochester's biggest employer, the University of Rochester, has launched a new business that will serve as an incubator to help new biotech companies develop technology and drugs to treat diseases such as cancer. Egnenix is the first business to move into the new Bio Enterprise Center. Researchers at the company hope someday to develop a drug to treat ovarian cancer.

President of High Tech Rochester, Paul Wettenhall said, "It will definitely mean new jobs, they'll start with two people and in a few years, 100 people will be working here." The center provides wet labs and access to expensive equipment and helps the businesses learn how to market their technology.

Four new companies are formed every year in Rochester using research developed at the UR medical center. That includes iCardiac Technologies, where they test effects of certain drugs on the heart. Mike Totterman started iCardiac with just two workers. He said he couldn't have done it without the university's support.

Three other biotech companies will soon move into the new center in Henrietta. They'll start with a handful of employees but should start growing and adding workers over the next five years. The idea is to give the start-up companies the equipment and room to grow. Then, it is hoped that when they do, they will stay in Rochester, creating hundreds of new jobs. 

It's somewhat reminiscent of spin-off companies Kodak created when it was Rochester's number one employer. The difference, however, is that Kodak had all of its eggs in one basket labeled "Film." The university is helping all kinds of high-tech businesses grow, with the goal of creating a diverse economy for the future.

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