FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: ERIC WOOLSON
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008
515-681-3967

BIOVENTURES CENTER RIBBON CUTTING HIGHLIGHT EXEMPLAR GENETICS TEAMWORK WITH UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Exemplar Genetics is among the first tenants at the University of Iowa’s BioVentures Center, a 35,000-square-foot business incubator that opened today to help new life science ventures grow, provide public benefit and improve the state’s economy.

Exemplar Genetics, based in Sioux Center, was launched in 2008 with core technology from the laboratory of one of the university’s most distinguished research professors, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Michael Welsh. The new venture is dedicated to improving understanding of a variety of genetic diseases and assisting with the discovery of new medical therapies. Exemplar Genetics started as a partnership with Trans Ova Genetics, one of the state’s leading biotech companies, also of Sioux Center, and the University of Iowa.

Noting that the university’s business incubation program has lacked proper facilities for biotech and other life science start-ups during its first 25 years, Associate Vice President for economic development Tom Sharpe, said the center represents “the celestial alignment of three essential elements.”

“Then a few years ago the stars aligned in such a way that this university’s dream of a state-of-the-art life science business incubation facility could materialize,” Sharpe said.

The three elements were an institutional commitment from President Sally Mason and the university’s vice president for research and senior vice president of finance, major financial support from the state and a strong partnership with the City of Coralville that resulted in important financial incentives, and a partnership with the project’s architects and general contractor who “shared our vision and our passion.”

“Tom Sharpe notes the ‘celestial alignment’ that took place to make the BioVentures Center a reality. I’d stay with his theme to point out that we expect the center to become a real shining star not only for the research community but especially for the people whose lives and health stand to be improved by the work that will be done there,” said John Swart, president of Exemplar Genetics.

Mason said the University of Iowa connects with and serves Iowans through the first-class education of more than 30,000 students, research and “importantly, through economic development initiatives that may not only result in public benefit but contribute to growing the wealth of our state.”

She continued, “A major research university like Iowa must have a first-class business incubation wet laboratory facility or it will have limited ability to grow start-up life science companies that are such a high priority in Iowa and the other 49 states. The University of Iowa now has a first-class incubator for biotech start-ups that it began dreaming about in 1984.”

Exemplar Genetics will develop, validate and produce additional models for other diseases independently and in collaboration with the country’s best scientists.  For more information, visit the company’s website at www.exemplargenetics.com.