Bioconnect Iowa is committed to supporting Iowa’s innovators and entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on the biosciences.
Bioscience
Platforms
Iowa benefits greatly from its bioscience sector. By any economic measure—the number of companies, economic output and exports, employment and average wage—Iowa’s biosciences industries are important to the state’s continued economic growth and development. Iowa’s core competencies in the biosciences represent foundational elements upon which the state can build its position and reputation in the global bioscience-based economy.
The Four Platforms Are:
Biobased
Products:
Over the last 100 years, molecules derived from oil and gas have generated much of the innovation in the chemicals industry, but the ability to derive novel new chemicals from these traditional feedstocks is limited. Enter biobased feedstocks and biochemistry. The future of innovation in the chemicals industry is likely to come from the discovery and exploitation of new molecules generated from biomass and in the advanced process technologies needed to generate them.
Precision and
Digital Agriculture:
Precision and digital agriculture bring cutting-edge tools to agriculture with the objective of improving producer practices and profitability. Today, precision agriculture systems use GPS, advanced sensors, and data analysis technologies to provide information farmers need to optimize and customize seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation for a maximum yield at the lowest cost. Precision livestock systems work in a similar fashion to promote animal health and protect against disease.
Vaccines, Diagnostics
and Immunotherapeutics:
Iowa is home to strong research programs that focus on vaccines and immunotherapeutics for both human and animal use, as well as a significant cluster of animal vaccine companies. This nexus of research and commercial activity offers an incredible opportunity to further develop Iowa’s status as a national leader in animal and human health innovation and business.
Medical
Innovation:
Healthcare currently represents 17.8 percent of the United States GDP and is a central driver for bioscience R&D and commercial activity. Medical devices represent an attractive and growing market with lower barriers to entry and faster timelines to market than pharmaceuticals. Medical devices and diagnostics encompass all software, instruments, and devices used in the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and monitoring of patients. Medical devices can include products that go inside the body or are used externally, or never touch the body at all.