San Jose BioCenter Awarded Title as Top Global Incubator

The San Jose BioCenter in San Jose, Calif. was awarded the 2009 National Business Incubation Association's Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year Award and the Dinah Adkins Incubator of the Year Award in the Technology Category along with a cash prize of $2000. The Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year award is NBIA's most prestigious honor, recognizing overall excellence in business incubation. For the 2009 award, nominations were submitted by dozens of incubator programs worldwide, including Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. The Dinah Adkins Incubator of the Year Award goes to the leading incubator in the technology category. The awards were announced at the NBIA's 23rd International Conference on Business Incubation in Kansas City, Missouri.

"The San Jose BioCenter continues to fuel the City's innovative edge by playing an integral role in the growth of new companies and key investments that stay in San Jose to further diversify our economy," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "We congratulate the BioCenter on both of their prestigious awards."

Accelerating the commercialization of science, the San Jose BioCenter provides a new generation of specialized facilities; capital equipment; laboratory services; and commercialization support for emerging science and technology companies.

"We are honored to receive the Award for Incubator of the Year and the Dinah Adkins Award for Incubator of the Year in the technology category," said Melinda Richter, Executive Director of the San Jose BioCenter. "Our model fundamentally changes how innovation gets to the market; it provides large company infrastructure for emerging science and technology companies. We commend all stakeholders who made this model possible, but in particular, we in turn honor the City of San Jose and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency for their unwavering commitment to the commercialization of science and technology."

Business incubation programs like the San Jose BioCenter catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. NBIA estimates that in 2005 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for more than 100,000 workers and generated annual revenue of more than $17 billion. Approximately 5,000 business incubators operate worldwide. Since 2005, the life science and clean technology companies of the BioCenter have raised more than $800M in capital and have created more than 600 direct jobs.

"I am thrilled to learn of the BioCenter's great success in being awarded two 2009 Incubator of the Year Awards," said Councilmember Ash Kalra, who represents the district of San Jose where the BioCenter is located. "The BioCenter has demonstrated once again why it is held as a shining example of the promise of San Jose's future."

The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, the NBIA Incubation Awards honor the business incubation programs, graduates and client companies that exemplify the best of the industry.

About San Jose BioCenter

Accelerating the commercialization of science, the San Jose BioCenter provides a new generation of specialized facilities; capital equipment; laboratory services; and commercialization support for emerging science and technology companies. The BioCenter is a new, time and cost efficient model to commercialize innovation for emerging science and technology companies. Since 2005, the life science and clean technology companies of the BioCenter have raised more than $800M in capital and have created more than 600 direct jobs.

About the San Jose Redevelopment Agency

Since 1994, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency has invested over $20 million in a business incubator program that supports the growth of young technology companies in San Jose. The purpose of the program is to create companies and jobs in key industry sectors in San Jose, with a focus on biotechnology and the life sciences, clean technology, and software. In addition to the San Jose BioCenter, the Redevelopment Agency supports the Environmental Business Cluster, the Software Business Cluster, and the U.S. Market Access Center. The San Jose Redevelopment Agency is governed by a board of directors comprised of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and the San Jose City Council. www.sjredevelopment.org

About the City of San Jose

From its founding in 1777 as California's first city, San Jose has been a leader, driven by its spirit of innovation. Today, San Jose stands as the largest city in Northern California and the Capital of Silicon Valley -- the world's leading center of innovation. The city, the 10th largest in the U.S., is ranked the most competitive knowledge economy by the World Competitive Knowledge Index. San Jose, home to Cisco, Adobe, eBay, Nanosolar and SunPower, is the most diversified innovation-based economic community, spanning seven core technology sectors, with 1,500 of the 2,500 largest technology firms in the world located within 30 miles of Downtown San Jose. The City's economic strategy focuses on small companies and start-ups with potential to become global leader and is complemented by the largest comprehensive incubator program in the nation, including the Software Business Cluster, Environmental Business Cluster, US Market Access Center for international business, and the San Jose BioCenter. For more information, visit, www.sanjoseca.gov.