DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 9
SUBJECT:
An Economic Development Agreement with Cytocentrics, Inc.
SUMMARY:
Staff is requesting City Council action on an Ordinance approving an Economic Development Agreement with Cytocentrics, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $1 million disbursed over five years, subject to the following: (1) the creation of 300 new high-wage jobs; (2) a capital investment of at least $15 million; and (3) a partnership with The Centers for Innovative Drug Discovery (CIDD), a joint venture between the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), which will result in enhanced research capabilities, and a partnership with Alamo Colleges for curriculum development, and development of workforce skills programs to train the City residents for high wage jobs in the biotechnology industry.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Cytocentrics Bioscience is a German biotechnology company formed in 2001 and located in Rostock, Germany. Cytocentrics manufactures and sells medical equipment to conduct automated cell analysis ("patch clamping") for drug testing to meet FDA testing requirements and replaces the current manual testing methods.
Cytocentrics' medical device evaluates drug interactions with human cells. Specifically, patch clamping assesses whether cells have the ability to metabolize an active drug ingredient and/or drug components. The company has automated the patch clamp technique, which uses electrophysiology to study the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. The company's technology is state of the art, and Nobel Laureate Professor Erwin Neher is a scientific advisor to the company.
The introduction of an automated patch clamp technique creates opportunities for new frontiers in the discovery and understanding human cells; more efficient and effective utilization of existi...
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