Also this issue: Paradise Under the El New Kensington CDC made me a Philadelphian. -Sue Sierra

July 3- 9, 2003

cityspace

The Biotech Pitch

by Daniel Brook

With the world’s largest biotech convention taking place down in D.C. last week, Philadelphia officials tried to piggyback the event by inviting delegates here to woo them and their companies. In all, about 100 scientists and entrepreneurs -- mostly from Korea and Australia -- packed University City’s Science Center, an institution that aids in turning pure scientific research into marketable products. A day after the convention ended, potential investors and entrepreneurs sat through a series of speakers and PowerPoint presentations pitching Philadelphia as the right place for their businesses.

In this world of global competition where Philadelphia is pitted against Boston, Singapore and even King of Prussia, attracting new businesses has never been tougher. (Boston, in fact, held a similar recruitment session before the D.C. convention.)

Case in point: After City Commerce Director James Cuorato gave his "It's a great time to invest in Philadelphia!" pitch, a Pittsburgh official tried to sell the Steel City. When he finished his spiel, two state government representatives stood in front of the group to talk up the state of Pennsylvania as a whole.

Cuorato admits that while southeastern Pennsylvania is a major biotech hub, pulling companies into the city limits, rather than suburban offices, is a difficult task since vast, low-lying buildings are better suited for science labs. (Who wants to produce biohazardous waste on the 52nd floor?)

He considers plans to convert the Philadelphia Navy Yard into a suburban-style corporate campus -- complete with inner-city tax benefits -- as his ace in the hole. "It's a series of campus-like buildings," he explains. "No high-rises." To boost investment in the Navy Yard, the state is allowing businesses that locate there to operate tax-free through 2019.

But Jong-Gu Park, a Korean scientist and businessmen in attendance, wasn't sold. Having received his Ph.D. from Penn, he described Philadelphia as "my second hometown" and said he had plans to open up a subsidiary of his genetics company, WelGENE, in the U.S.

Still, he said, it's so difficult getting to Philadelphia that he may strike it from his list. Korean Airlines flies nonstop to JFK and Dulles but doesn't serve Philadelphia. So when he comes to Philly, he takes a 16-hour flight to New York and then hops aboard a rickety turboprop to Philly. "It's kind of a pain in the neck," he says. "Philadelphia should pay more attention to Asia."

The city is paying attention to Asia, but direct flights there are "unlikely in the near future," Cuorato says. "The airlines will not come into a market unless they're convinced that the market is there."