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temple reintroduced to biotech, pharma industry leaders

To spur new partnerships and showcase Temple’s burgeoning biomedical research activity and expertise, School of Medicine alumnus Frank Baldino, Chairman and CEO of Cephalon, recently hosted a breakfast at The Rittenhouse for industry leaders.

Attendees hailed from large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechnology firms, as well as from government and professional organizations.

Baldino was joined by President David Adamany and School of Medicine Dean John Daly, who detailed Temple’s expansion in the region — a catalyst for the growth of the biosciences.

According to Adamany, biomedical research funding in Philadelphia lags behind that of other major metropolitan areas. But, with a research powerhouse like Penn, we’re poised to move up the ranks.

What the city needs now is a strong second player, and Temple is perfectly positioned to fill that spot.

As Dean Daly explained, the School of Medicine is committed to research growth and innovation.

Star scientists are joining Temple from throughout the region and across the country. Over the past three years, the school’s clinical faculty has grown by 29 percent and the basic science faculty, by 24 percent, while the number of research centers has doubled.

The new Medical School building, for which construction is scheduled to begin this fall, will open 260,000 square feet of research space and allow for the recruitment of 112 new principal investigators, as well as entire research teams.

In the meantime, existing research space has been renovated and updated, allowing the productivity of faculty members, already outstanding, to grow.

One of the biggest boosts to research growth at Temple has been the fortification of the University’s research infrastructure. Thanks to the efforts of the Office of Clinical Trials, which has significantly streamlined processes for rapid clinical trial start-up, a 14-day Institutional Review Board review process is now in place; master contract agreements have been established with eight pharmaceutical companies and more are planned; and Temple’s study participant recruitment rate is double that of other academic centers in Philadelphia. Currently, Temple is running 200 clinical trials, twice the number of just three years ago.

Upon hearing about some of the new star recruits, including obesity expert Gary Foster from the University of Pennsylvania, who joins Temple this spring, an audience member asked how Temple attracts such strong scientists. Daly attributed our success to the fact that, at Temple, people have a chance to create something new or build their own enterprise.

Baldino echoed, “It’s a new model for medical education and medical research. What’s most exciting about Temple is that the University is willing to change and to make change.”

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- By Eryn Jelesiewicz

February 16, 2006

Contact Information:

Office of News Communications
Eryn Jelesiewicz, Director
Phone: (215) 707-0730
Fax: (215) 707-2940
eryn.jelesiewicz@temple.edu