City of Birmingham

Birmingham Biotech Hub Receives $44M Federal Grant

(Source: City of Birmingham)
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Federal officials on Tuesday announced that the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, led by Southern Research, had been awarded a $44 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Make no mistake, these dollars are a game changer because they will bring new jobs — thousands of jobs — to the city of Birmingham over the next 10 years in the form of biotechnology jobs, which is the future of our economic identity,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said during his State of the Community event Tuesday evening.

The Birmingham project is one of 31 such tech hubs selected from 198 applications for the designation.

Founded in Birmingham in 1941, the Southern Research employs 250 scientists and professional staff. According to the group’s website, it has developed seven FDA-approved cancer drugs and tested more than half of the active chemotherapies in the United States.

The Birmingham City Council in March 2024 approved $5 million for Southern Research to develop a public health data system that will leverage personalized medical data as well as data from clinical trials to help patients get the best care available. Southern Research in July 2023 received $20 million from the state to go toward the platform, and Jefferson County has provided $7.5 million for a building that will house the new project.

Officials say Birmingham Biotechnology Hub will apply artificial intelligence-driven biotechnology to increase representation in clinical genomic data and clinical trials.

“Leveraging the region’s existing assets, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s data bank, the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub will use artificial intelligence trained with inclusive patient data to shorten the drug development pipeline and deliver affordable drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics that treat a diverse global patient population,” stated a press release from the Department of Commerce

According to federal officials, this designation is part of the first phase of the novel Tech Hubs program, authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, that will invest directly in high-potential U.S. regions and aim to transform them into globally competitive innovation centers. Designated Tech Hubs are now eligible to apply for the next phase of the Tech Hubs Program, which will award between $50 million and $75 million each to between five and 10 tech hubs.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is rooted in policies that will empower the United States to out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world. Our Tech Hubs Program is fundamental to that mission and will supercharge innovation across the nation by spurring cutting-edge technological investments and creating 21st century job opportunities in people’s backyards,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was quoted as saying in the release. “Each of these consortia will help us ensure the industries of the future — and their good-paying jobs — start, grow, and remain in the United States.”