 | $1.25 million EDA Grant Awarded to New Orleans BioInnovation Center 
At left, Alan Miller, Chairman of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center Board of Trustees, with Councilman James Carter and Mayor C. Ray Nagin. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded a $1.25 million competitive grant to further construction of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) on Canal Street. A check was presented by Benjamin Erulkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, in a ceremony at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center. Attendees at the presentation included Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Dr. Allan Miller, Chairman of the NOBIC Board of Trustees, Steven E. Moye, President/CEO of the Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium, and Aaron Miscenich, Executive Director of the BioInnovation Center. "This funding from the EDA recognizes the role that the BioInnovation Center can play in the economic recovery of New Orleans and resurgence of our medical district," says Miscenich. "this money, as well as the funding committed by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, will be instrumental in assisting in the development of a New Orleans-based biosciences industry." The funds will support architectural and engineering needs for the design and construction of the 130,000 square foot facility currently under development on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. The building will house laboratory equipment and office space where young life sciences companies can turn research into successful ventures. A key component of the facility will be a 22,000 square foot FDA compliant manufacturing facility owned and managed by the Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium. The facility will produce cell and gene therapy technologies for clinical trials and will operate under stringent FDA guidelines to meet the scrupulous requirements for producing therapies used in humans. | | |
