WMU Magazine
BRCC supports research and development in West Michigan
The year was 2003. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was desperately looking for ways to keep displaced Pfizer workers in the Kalamazoo community. She turned to WMU for help, and so was born WMU’s Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center.
The BRCC aims to turn the latest bioscience discoveries into new processes and products for the commercial pharmaceutical and scientific market, tapping into the expertise of former Pfizer scientists and other top researchers from around the nation. The center received final authorization from the state’s Technology Tri-Corridor Steering Committee on Dec. 1, 2003, when members approved a five-year business plan and signed off on $10 million for use in launching the effort.
Originally located at William McCracken Hall on the main campus of WMU, the BRCC has its headquarters at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, a life sciences incubator and wet lab facility located at WMU’s Business Technology and Research Park.
The SMIC houses the BRCC’s central administrative offices and more than 9,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space. In addition, the BRCC and its scientists have the potential for collaborative access to about 150 laboratories on WMU’s main and Parkview campuses, and use of WMU’s animal facility.
Clinical and non-clinical testing services are available in Kalamazoo through BRCC affiliations with Jasper Clinical Research & Development and MPI Research, an internationally regarded contract toxicology research laboratory.
What the BRCC does
The BRCC provides business support services and an environment where scientists can be around people in the same profession. The center coordinates research activities and provides an organizational home for scientists as they work to establish new businesses, obtain extramural funding for research, and develop a center of excellence for pharmaceutical development and to support commercialization of the life sciences in Michigan.
According to Executive Director Jack Luderer, “The BRCC helps to commercialize life science discoveries entering the commercialization phases of development in order to benefit society and is a place where you can share frustrations and successes about your work.”
Luderer was highly involved with the creation of the center, helping to develop the structure and business plan. Originally vice president for research at WMU, Luderer was appointed by the BRCC Board of Governors as executive director of the BRCC in 2005.
The BRCC supports promising new life sciences ventures entering the commercialization phases of development in a number of ways:
- Startup and gap funding assistance is available through the BRCC for promising new ventures.
- BioLaunch pharmaceutical development services are available to launch new pharmaceutical, device and diagnostic companies.
- The resources of the Core Technology Alliance, a collaborative network of technologically sophisticated core facilities that enhance life sciences research and product development throughout the state of Michigan, are available through the BRCC, which brings pharmaceutical commercialization expertise to the alliance.
- The BRCC receives external oversight and advice from scientific, business and academic experts on the center’s governing board of directors.
Partnering with the state
The BRCC is a member of the Core Technology Alliance, the mission of which is to enhance life sciences research and product development throughout the state of Michigan. Other strategic partners include life science research units at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University and the Van Andel Institute and others.
“Knowing that your contribution to the economic development of the state can make a difference, and building an intellectual quality of life in Kalamazoo is the most rewarding part of my job,” says Luderer.
Although many of the attempts made in the BRCC could fail, Luderer believes that it is the most rewarding for those who succeed and are able to take advantage of the discoveries made at the BRCC.
“The challenge is continuing finding capital and recruiting people to come to Kalamazoo,” says Luderer.