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Cincinnati-based PDS Biotechnology Corp. will get $2 million from the state’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to move its headquarters and laboratory to Indiana.
Founded in 2005, the “semi-virtual” company has four employees now; it anticipates ramping up operations over the next five years, eventually employing more than 50, CEO Frank Bedu-Addo said this morning.
The company developed a nanotechnology that delivers targeted therapies to a body’s immune system to treat cancer and infectious diseases.
PDS received funding from the U.S. National Cancer Institute in October and expects to begin clinical trials on a therapy to treat cancers associated with the human papilloma virus within 18 months.
Indiana was an appealing location for a number of reasons, Bedu-Addo said, including the presence of what he called “one of the best nanotechnology centers in the world” at Purdue University.
In addition to that pool of potential collaborators and employees, he cited the state’s other world-class universities, its robust biotech infrastructure-contract developers, researchers and manufacturers that can help PDS-and a cost of living that gave Indiana an edge over states in the northeast.
Bedu-Addo also praised the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which initiated the relocation discussions.
“Our interaction with the IEDC was very positive,” he said. “Their program is very competitive, very progressive.”
PDS has not selected a location yet, Bedu-Addo said, but it is considering sites in Indianapolis and at Purdue Research Park. He expects to begin the relocation process in three to four months.
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