BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota Chooses ANGLE Technology Group to Conduct State Assessment; Comprehensive Analysis of Biobusiness in Minnesota Will Cover Entire State and Businesses of All Sizes.

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, the business development organization for enriching Minnesota's future through the biosciences, today announced that it has chosen ANGLE Technology Group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the state's biobusiness capabilities. The assessment will begin immediately and be completed in the fourth quarter 2005.

ANGLE Technology Group was chosen from a group of more than seven firms responding to a rigorous RFP process that included 15 national and international firms. ANGLE was chosen for their vast experience both in conducting assessments in the U.S. and internationally, and for their consulting expertise in the technology industry.

The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota statewide assessment effort is overseen by a committee that includes members from industry, government and academia, and is co-chaired by Professor Kelvin W. Willoughby, PhD, University of Minnesota Honeywell/W.R. Sweatt Chair in the Management of Technology, and director, Management of Technology Program; and Vince Ruane, retired vice president, 3M, and board director, Capital City Bioscience Corporation. The state assessment is the first step in a long-term planning process that will result in a 20-year strategic plan.

The outcome of the statewide assessment will be a comprehensive census and database of biobusiness enterprises in the entire state, regardless of the size of the business. Biobusiness is defined as economic activity devoted to the development and commercialization of bioscience or bioscience-related technologies, products or services.

The assessment will provide a baseline evaluation of biobusiness in the state. This information will be useful to benchmark Minnesota against other countries and states. The outcome of the process will identify the state's strengths and development needs, and provide recommendations to target specific areas of biobusiness in which Minnesota can compete as a global leader. These recommendations will reflect the convergence of technologies, products, and markets that exist in the state, and identify Minnesota's opportunity areas for growth.

According to Willoughby, "Unlike other studies that use standard industry categories from publicly available databases, in this project we're digging down deep into the basic fields of technology and science that underpin biobusiness in Minnesota.

"ANGLE Technology Group has demonstrated the understanding and the ability to identify and map the information in a way that's useful to decision makers," added Willoughby. "They speak the language of biobusiness, which is extremely valuable in gathering the data. In the end, Minnesota will have an assessment and recommendations that are unique to the state."

"The assessment process and the outcomes it will generate will confirm our capabilities and uncover the emerging technology-related opportunities we have in the human health and energy-agricultural/industrial sectors," said Ruane. "Our ultimate goal is to identify specific and distinctive biobusiness categories where Minnesota can compete as one of three, or perhaps one of five global centers of excellence, as opposed to being one of 100 centers. This is a crucial step in making Minnesota highly competitive worldwide."

According to Dale Wahlstrom, chair of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, "We are very excited that ANGLE Technology Group was awarded this project. They understand our mission and our commitment to action and job creation."

Wahlstrom added, "When it comes right down to it, the ultimate benefits of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota are to provide clarity to help our research institutions to target research, our legislators to target investments and policy needs, our educators to develop curriculum, our investment community to grow their confidence in Minnesota's business development capability, and our businesses to grow and create jobs for the citizens of the state. We begin with accurately assessing the capabilities of biobusiness in Minnesota."

"We are very pleased that ANGLE has been selected to deliver this innovative, industry-driven assessment of Minnesota's biobusiness capabilities," said Dr. Gary P. Evans, CEO of ANGLE Technology Group's U.S. Operations. "We look forward to working with the BioBusiness Alliance team to take the first step in the long-term planning and development of a biobusiness strategy for Minnesota."

Founded in 1994, ANGLE Technology is an international venture management and consulting company. The ANGLE Team is comprised of professionals who combine backgrounds in science and engineering, corporate finance, and economic development. ANGLE Technology combines experience in the academic, private and public sectors. This includes extensive expertise in the commercialization of technology, new company formation, investment and corporate finance, research park and incubator development and management, and delivery of economic development programs. ANGLE established a Minnesota office in August 2004 in recognition of the significant business potential it believes exists in this state.

The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota has applied for 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organizational status. For more information about The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, contact Jeremy Lenz, project executive at 952/542-3077, extension 8.