Tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth are expected in Wisconsin after a local biohealth technology hub recently beat out proposals from across the country to secure millions in highly sought-after federal funding.
The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub is among 12 regional hubs from around the country to win a share of $504 million in federal money designed to supercharge innovation nationwide and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness, the Biden-Harris administration announced Tuesday.
Wisconsin's winning bid represents a Milwaukee-Madison collaboration to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine. It was awarded $49 million in federal funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. Combined with $7.5 million in state money and $24 million from industry partners, the effort now has a total of more than $80 million in funding, according to Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub leader Wendy Harris.
"We already have strong companies, but this funding will help us to pull together and create projects that increase our competitiveness and make us a global leader in the industry," Harris said via email Tuesday. "We have a great team that worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to showcase our Wisconsin biohealth industry and our ideas on advancing our technologies. It is great to see those ideas being funded and developed right here in Wisconsin."
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The hub is projected to create up to 30,000 personalized medicine jobs and more than 111,000 indirect jobs in Wisconsin in the first 10 years, and spur $9 billion in economic development across the state, according to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. The win also contributes to the state's efforts to grow its startup scene, technology sector and its reputation as a place for innovation.
What is the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub?
The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub is led by BioForward Wisconsin and also involves 17 other partners including GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation, Exact Sciences, Employ Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Milwaukee 7.
The Wisconsin collaboration is intended to leverage the state's cluster of health care businesses, technology and track record of commercializing medical research to facilitate manufacturing coordination and data sharing, expand lab space and computing capacity, advance the field of critical genomic technology, and accelerate domestic biotech manufacturing, according to the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The Biden administration described personalized medicine as "an emerging health care approach that tailors tests, treatments and therapies informed by a patient’s unique genetic code, medical record and environment."
How was Wisconsin's hub selected?
Wisconsin's win came from a monthslong competitive process in which the local biohealth hub beat out nearly 200 other proposals from across the country. The federal tech hubs program is designed to boost innovation in regions outside of traditional places such as Silicon Valley.
In October 2023, the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub was one of 31 regional hubs the Biden administration selected from a pool of 192 nationwide applicants to win a Phase 1 regional tech hub designation, according to Harris.
That Phase 1 designation made the tech hubs eligible for millions in Phase 2 funding. Of the Phase 2 grants announced Tuesday, the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub is receiving one of the highest amounts. Only four other tech hubs — serving Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Oklahoma — were awarded more than Wisconsin. Those hubs received $51 million each.
After receiving the Phase 1 designation, the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub tapped Harris to lead the effort as the hub's regional innovation officer. Harris is a 33-year veteran of GE HealthCare who stepped down from a leadership post at the company in January 2023. She continued to consult with the company on the development of the Biohealth Tech Hub.
One of the Milwaukee Business Journal's 2024 Women of Influence, Harris is personally invested in the subject of personalized medicine after surviving breast cancer in her 30s.
