By Wayne Roper

In a state where unemployment is soaring above 10%, one sector in South Carolina continues to add jobs, even through the recession, with projections for continued growth through 2018: life sciences.

So the state has a considerable economic interest when 12 economic development and life sciences groups join to showcase South Carolina’s life sciences research and industry assets before a world audience of BIO 2011, the largest biotech tradeshow in the world.

“The conference was an excellent opportunity for South Carolina to showcase itself at a venue where nearly every industrial country and every state is represented,” said Arik Bjorn program manager for SmartState, the new name for the Centers of Economic Excellence Program. “People were very interested to learn what is going on in South Carolina and the group had exciting things to tell them.”

Nearly half of South Carolina’s Centers of Economic Excellence are in life sciences. Several hundred million dollars in non-state investment has entered the state economy through the SmartState Endowed Chairs and their research teams.

Among those confident that South Carolina has what it takes to compete on a national and international level for biotech jobs is Dr. Jay Moskowitz, CEO and president of Health Sciences South Carolina, which led the collaborative effort.

“We can tout South Carolina’s existing biotech sector, the fact that it’s easy to do business in the state,” he said. That was the message: South Carolina is where life and science meet.

During the show, the group made roughly 2,400 contacts with entrepreneurs, researchers and companies, telling the state story.

Just some of the assets include:

· The South Carolina Research Authority that was named the National Non-Profit of the year by the American Business Awards, primarily on a review of the SC Launch program and which has received awards from The Wall Street Journal and others for its excellence in technology development.

· SC Launch, whose client companies have secured more than $130 million in follow-on funding, and has supported and funded 188 startups in South Carolina. Nearly half the SC Launch startups are in life sciences.

· HSSC, the nation's only statewide biomedical research collaborative and its commitment to transforming South Carolina's public health through research.

· The Medical University of South Carolina and its continuing drive to move world-class research to commercialization. MUSC researchers already are leading, or helped others launch, a number of promising companies in the Lowcountry.

· The Savannah River National Lab where researchers are working on world-class biofuels research.

· The South Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization, as the voice of the state’s life sciences industry.

· The many life science companies from the Upstate to the Lowcountry that employ a total of more than 13,000 workers at an average wage of $53,275. They include such names as Becton Dickinson, Bausch and Lomb, Capsugel, Belimed, Covidien, Trumpf Medical Systems, Berthold Imaging, Span-America, NutraManufacturing, Perrigo, Zeus, Ortec, St. Jude Medical, Roche Carolina, GE Healthcare and Glaxo Smith Kline.

· The University of South Carolina and Clemson, along with regional health systems where new efforts to innovate are forming collaborations, institutes and special industry partnerships in cancer and bioengineering research.

· The South Carolina Bioengineering Alliance of state universities for translational research.

· The Hollings Cancer Institute one of only 66 National Cancer Institute-designated centers.

· The Greenwood Genetic Center, where 30 years of research and clinical practice have been poured into the causes and treatment of genetic birth defects.

Economic development groups were able to tell the state story about the quality of life, and the natural resources and the infrastructure that biotech companies need.

They included the S.C. Department of Commerce, USC Innovista, Upstate S.C. Alliance, Greenwood Partnership Alliance, and Innovate Anderson.

Also participating were Immunologix of Charleston and NXT health care design.

The biotechnology industry enjoyed strong growth in the last decade. Related employment grew 15.8% from 2001 to 2008 and continued to grow, though much slower through the recession. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts the industry will continue to grow faster than overall private sector employment through 2018, according to a 2010 Battelle Institute study.

In an economy where every job counts, the right policies that foster and encourage this important sector can grow high-wage jobs and help South Carolina rebound from the recession.

The unified South Carolina effort at BIO 2011 is part of the momentum building to make this happen in life sciences.

Wayne Roper is president of SCBIO, also known as the South Carolina Biotechnology Organization.