University of Florida-born Axogen wanted to make the move from Gainesville to a larger city to help with recruitment efforts.
The usual suspects of Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta were looked at, with a heavy consideration for Texas due to large incentives offered.
"Texas threw a lot of money at us, but we realized when you're a fast-growing company, you run a huge risk if you think you will pick up your entire company and move several states away and not lose some of your best people," said Pete Mariani, Axogen's executive VP and CFO. "And there's just so much excitement around Tampa and we were able to be the first to lock into a contract, right at a time people just weren’t sure about it."
The company was the first tenant signed to a new office building in The Heights, adjacent to food hall Armature Works. Shortly after, biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer signed a lease in the office next door.
The Heights Tampa
"From our experience and what I've seen in recruiting, getting companies here is absolutely in the realm of what Tampa can do," said Karen Zaderej, Axogen's CEO. "I've gotten a number of cold outreach calls, with people asking about Tampa. There is real genuine interest from companies that are growing and trying to think about where they need to be."
Axogen was founded in 2002 with technology from the UF system and it became a public company (NASDAQ: AXGN) in 2011. It has a focus on peripheral nerve repair, to fix nerve damage without the chronic pain that tends to follow more standard procedures.
It has roughly 400 employees globally, with about 100 of those working in Tampa.
Zaderej purposely avoided Boston when looking at potential new homes for the company, due to the large number of biotech firms that could cause a leapfrog effect with its employees.
"What we needed was a place to recruit people out of Boston," she said. "We needed to recruit them into a destination with an urban lifestyle, but also the classic live, work, play near where you work. And Tampa offered that."
She also pointed to the city's relatively young population, its school system and affordable living compared to larger coastal cities. However, she does believe Tampa can take some notes from the Northeastern city.
"As Tampa grows and wants to attract more biotech companies, they have to build out more lab space," she said. "We had the luxury of having time and knowing the move out in advance to build our own labs in Tampa, but many won’t have that flexibility — and there is no lab space."
It can also advertise its proximity to Tampa General Hospital and University of South Florida Health programs, which can further entice biotech firms looking for collaboration.
Axogen officials said with continued marketing from the region's economic development agencies, along with sharing stories like their own, Tampa Bay could see more recruitment success.
"Florida's incentive is Florida — if this were about incentive dollars, Texas would’ve won out," Mariani said. "But I think the Tampa Bay [Economic Development Council] has done a great job and I think they should continue to advertise and happily sell Tampa for all the good things it has. And companies will respond over time."
