Building One at the new Technology Enterprise Park

Sharon Higgins, director, Irish Medical Devices Association

The ribbon cutting for the first of four planned buildings in Technology Enterprise Park off of North Avenue Oct. 15 drew a delegation of representatives from Ireland’s bioscience sector as well as a large group of officials from the city and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The event at which Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough spoke was primarily a ceremonial affair since the building was first occupied in June by Altea Therapeutics Corp., which produces a transdermal delivery system for water-soluble drugs and proteins, and CardioMEMS Inc., a medical device company focused on wireless sensing and communication technology for the human body.

The park is a partnership between Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures, an affiliate of Georgia Tech, and the University Financing Foundation, which provides funding for globally competitive university projects.

Dr. Clough traced the development of the park as an important component in the development of the city and state’s biotechnology sector.  The building was built specifically to accommodate the utilities needed for high-tech laboratories and production space, such as proper exhaust, clean rooms and chillers to regulate humidity.

He stressed that the park would provide a central location in the city for companies affiliated with the city’s academic institutions including Emory University, Georgia State University and the Morehouse School of Medicine.

“We are creating the future,” Ms. Franklin said. “This is the kind of project that will make a difference.”

Georgia Rep. Kathy B. Ashe, whose district encompasses the park, echoed the mayor’s comments. “This helps establish a place for us in the world where we can look forward to future developments,” she told GlobalAtlanta following the ceremony.

Among the Irish delegates attending the ceremony were Marian Byron, director of the Dublin-based Irish Bioindustry Association and assistant director of the Irish Medical Devices Association, and Sharon Higgins, director of the Irish Medical Devices Association.

The delegation was led by Barry Dolan, associate director and biotechnology research lead at Georgia Tech Ireland, a part of the Georgia Tech Research Institute that is establishing partnerships with Irish universities and companies and is located in Athlone County, Ireland.

Georgia Tech Ireland receives funding from the Irish government’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland).

Dr. Dolan told GlobalAtlanta that Georgia Tech Ireland sought to promote the commercialization of the university’s cutting edge research. It also operates and collaborates with Irish universities, research centers and companies, he said.

Its primary interests include digital media, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), health care technologies and sustainable energy.

Last year, the Milken Institute, a Los Angeles-based think tank, ranked Georgia Tech No. 4 for assisting start-up companies, No. 11 for bringing technologies from lab to market and No. 8 for patents filed.

Technology Enterprise Park is being developed by Gateway Development Services Inc. To learn more about the park, call Mack Reese, president, at (404) 214-6900.