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The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration has awarded the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub Grant, which will provide $43.6 million in direct funding to support several central Alabama entities working to advance the state’s biotechnology ecosystem and impact.
The Birmingham Bio Innovation Corporation will coordinate Birmingham Biotechnology Hub efforts that seek to leverage artificial intelligence to shorten the drug development pipeline and deliver affordable drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to treat a global patient population and increase the efficacy of biotechnological products.
Birmingham Biotechnology Hub Grant funds are being awarded to Southern Research and University of Alabama at Birmingham to create artificial intelligence drug discovery platforms and to Alabama Community College Systems, Lawson State Community College, and The PROPEL Center to provide advanced biotechnology training and workforce development.
Birmingham Bio Innovation Corporation Interim Regional Innovation Officer Sanjay Singh says the benefits of this work will be significant.
“We have a great opportunity — with this grant and support from other public and private partners — to train Alabamians in the biotech jobs of the future, advance technology and make life-changing and life-saving discoveries,” Singh said. “The work of the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub promises to benefit our local and state economies while improving health across Alabama and far beyond.”
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, added her strong support of the grant award saying, “This award is a big victory for the City of Birmingham and the entire State of Alabama! Not only will it ensure that Birmingham remains a leader in the biotechnology sector, but it will also help us make strides toward greater representation for African Americans and other minority communities in clinical trials. Hats off to Southern Research, UAB, and the City of Birmingham for the many years of hard work and collaboration that made this announcement possible. I am proud to have played a role in creating this important federal program and I thank the Biden-Harris Administration for continuing to invest in the Magic City!”
Almost $20 million of the grant will fund Southern Research’s Catalyst program, launched in October 2024 with support from the State of Alabama and City of Birmingham. The initiative seeks to provide patients across Alabama with access to free genetic tests and clinical insights about medications and risks for certain chronic diseases, making the latest health innovations available in rural and underserved communities.
Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, at the time of the launch, said Catalyst will have economic development implications and potential healthcare benefits in communities across the state. “The clinical trials industry is expected to reach $80 billion by 2030, and Catalyst can help Alabama attract a sizable portion of that investment,” he said. “Equally important is the prospect of creating high-paying, long-lasting, 21st Century jobs in a sector that is already ripe for explosive growth.”
The UAB Center for Innovation Platforms and Therapeutics Acceleration is set to receive almost $10 million of the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub Grant to develop advanced AI and biological platforms that speed up drug discovery. Matt Might, Ph.D., director of the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, will lead that work.
“Precision medicine — using patients’ unique DNA and individualized biomarkers to provide personalized, more effective medical care — allows us to save and improve lives like never before; it is truly the future of medicine,” Might said. “Using AI will help us reach that future faster — discovering new drugs and identifying new and more precise uses for existing ones — much sooner than we previously thought possible.”
Through the grant, Alabama Community College System in partnership Lawson State Community College and The PROPEL Center will both advance biotechnology workforce development and training initiatives needed to grow Alabama’s biotech economy and impact. The Lawson State Community College Biotech Early Career Workforce Development Program was awarded $7.26 million, and The PROPEL Center— a technology and innovation hub that supports HBCUs — has been awarded $5 million to support its Biotech Advanced Upskilling Project.
In 2023, Birmingham was awarded a Tech Hubs Destination by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, allowing the city to apply for the funding of special projects.
