Executive Director Rob Owen was interviewed about the release of Bio Nebraska’s new white paper: Building Nebraska’s Bioeconomy.
In late August, Bio Nebraska released “Building Nebraska’s Bioeconomy: Key Findings and a Strategic Path Forward,” a white paper presenting solutions for moving Nebraska’s bioeconomy forward.
Silicon Prairie News recently sat down with Bio Nebraska Executive Director Rob Owen to discuss the findings.
An excerpt:
When Bio Nebraska, the biotech trade association, commissioned a study on industry needs in the state, it was for a narrow question: Should there be a push to build a $50-70 million industrial manufacturing pilot facility?
The vision was for an incubator and innovation lab for a range of biotech companies.
“This facility could be for a startup … a university researcher,” said Rob Owen, the executive director of Bio Nebraska. “This can be (for) one of your big multinational companies that needs research space.”
But Nebraska companies said they didn’t really need this facility. Instead, they had more pressing concerns.
“The interesting thing was, more times than not, the No. 1 issue for folks was workforce,” Owen said. “It’s not necessarily quality, it’s quantity. And that’s from entry level all the way up.”
With the study results published as a white paper in late August, Bio Nebraska hopes to start a broader discussion about how Nebraska can support local biotech. The Nebraska Corn Board also funded the study.
While state leaders, like Gov. Jim Pillen, have made overtures to Nebraska’s bioeconomy — with an emphasis on ethanol and hopes for producing sustainable aviation fuel — the industry’s diversity often flies under the radar.
A variety of products, from blood-testing tools and food preservatives to animal vaccines and livestock supplements, are made here.
“We have the Cargill campus for industrial biomanufacturing, we have the (University of Nebraska Medical Center) on human health, we have those animal health companies, and we have agtech,” Owen said. “So let’s be good at what we’re already good at. Let’s go all in.”