Industry Snapshot
Economy/Cost of
Living | Education
Recreation
& Entertainment | Transportation
| Geography
& Climate
History
| Suggested
Reading List
Arkansas aims to foster the growth of its emerging biotechnology and life sciences industry. The
Natural State contains many resources to assist it in this goal.
Arkansas hosts a number of biotechnology and life science companies within its borders. Among these
are Bioengineering Resources,
Inc. in Fayetteville; Pel-Freez
Biologicals in Rogers; Bio-Tech Pharmacal
Inc. in Fayetteville; Blansett Pharmacal Co.,
Inc. in North Little Rock; Immunovision in Springdale; Shoffner Farm Research Inc. in Newport; among others.
Arkansas touts organizations and resources designed to develop and further the life science
industry. The Arkansas Biotechnology
Association (ABA) aims to define Arkansas’ role in the globalization of biotechnology while
building a strong science and business alliance to foster growth for the industry in the state. The
Arkansas Biosciences Institute
(ABI) was created as the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000,
and aims to improve the health of Arkansans through its five member organizations: Arkansas
Children’s Hospital; Arkansas State University; the University
of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; the University
of Arkansas, Fayetteville; and the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Arkansas
Science and Technology Authority offers the Arkansas Research Matching Fund, which provides state funds to match federal
awards for research and research equipment, with the goal of improving the state’s federal research
and development ranking via investment in research and research infrastructure.
Arkansas’s educational institutions greatly assist the state’s collaborative research efforts. The
University of Arkansas Office of Technology
Licensing offers collaborators access to science and engineering expertise, laboratory facilities,
equipment, and intellectual property in fields such as biotechnology and next-generation electronic
and photonic devices, to name a few. The Arkansas
State University Office of Research and Technology Transfer supports grant and non-grant research
activities and professional development for faculty, develops intellectual property on the university’s
behalf, and promotes transfer of the protected intellectual property into the commercial sector. The
University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS)
established the UAMS BioVentures and
its Technology Licensing Office (TLO) to aid in technology transfer and creation of startup companies,
toward the goal of advancing Arkansas’ scientific and economic development in global markets.
Other research institutions comprise the flourishing biotechnology and life science industry of the
Natural State. Some of these include the FDA’s National
Center for Toxicological Research near Pine Bluff; the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart; and the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, also in Stuttgart.
With its impressive resources and long-term goals, Arkansas seems assured a bright future in the
biotechnology and life science industry.
Back to Destination Arkansas
|
