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Storm Eye Institute sets sights on economic growth
By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Albert Florens Storm Eye Institute say they believe the institute’s recently approved $9 million collaborative research project with the University of South Carolina could generate a hefty economic impact for the state, particularly the Lowcountry.
The project, approved in June by the South Carolina Research Centers for Economic Excellence, involves the development of new therapies for macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa and other eye diseases and is expected to spawn biotech spin-off companies and opportunities for vendors and other service-related businesses.
The project’s total, five-year economic impact for the state could range from about $41.8 million to nearly $74.6 million, researchers say.
The Storm Eye Institute will use the grant to recruit two endowed professors—one experienced in retinal research, the other in bioengineering—to lead research teams. The retinal research team will create new eye disease treatments. The bioengineering team will develop eye therapy products, such as surgical implants and other devices, leading to the development of new businesses.
The project gives South Carolina an opportunity to enter ophthalmology’s $33 billion therapeutic products industry, says project director Craig Crosson, vice chairman for ophthalmology research at MUSC. He adds that the project could create an ophthalmology business cluster in which starting salaries for lab technicians could hit $30,000 for employees with bachelor’s degrees and as high as $70,000 for those with doctorates.
If by January 2007 the institute raises $4.5 million, either in cash or pledges, the state will contribute a matching $4.5 million for the $9 million project grant.
“The biggest challenge is in raising the money,” notes Dr. Edward Wilson Jr., chairman of the Storm Eye Institute’s ophthalmology department. He says some people, especially affluent local retirees from the North, need to be convinced such a project can succeed in South Carolina, which does not have the research reputations of regions like New England and Southern California.
Yet Wilson and his MUSC colleagues are on their way to meeting the fundraising challenge. The institute has raised $2.9 million and is seeking further donations from corporations, individuals and private organizations, Wilson says.
The South Carolina Lions, a statewide charitable organization devoted to fighting blindness and a supporter of the Storm Eye Institute since the 1990s, has pledged $500,000 to help fund the research project.
Wilson notes that in the past, the lack of lab space and start-up funds have hampered MUSC in birthing and nurturing spin-off companies. However, with the Storm Eye Institute having ample lab space within its Ashley Avenue facility, the Lowcountry’s sizzling construction industry showing no signs of cooling off and the potential for the institute’s research project to spawn investment-worthy businesses, Wilson is optimistic MUSC will keep the project’s successful biotech spin-offs in the Lowcountry.
“Some of us have been in spin-off companies before,” Crosson says of MUSC’s ophthalmology researchers, which numbered three when Crosson arrived at the medical university in 1998. That number has since grown to 10, and Crosson hopes to increase it to about 15.
As the nation’s population ages, ophthalmology will see a business boon, Crosson says.
“More than 60% of people over the age of 65 will require surgery or advanced therapy for eye disease,” says Crosson. “Ultimately, the research project will impact the lives of residents throughout the state, as well as people living both inside and outside of our country’s borders, helping them maintain or restore their quality of life.”
iDennis Quick covers health and wellness for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@charlesotnbusiness.com.
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