Dale Wahlstrom is an optimistic guy. But budget-cutting Republicans poised to control the House and Senate, and possibly the governor’s office next year may test the optimism of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota CEO.

In launching Decade of Discovery, a $250 million-to-$350 million diabetes partnership, the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic are opting for an approach that requires the help of virtually everyone with a stake in Minnesota’s healthcare economy: hospitals, payers, food manufacturers, device companies, biotech startups.

Dale Wahlstrom, the CEO of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, soon will oversee LifeScience Alley under a strategic affiliation the two organizations announced Thursday. Beginning in November, Wahlstrom, a former Medtronic executive, will replace Don Gerhardt, president and chief executive of LifeScience Alley, who will retire at the end of the year. Officials from both groups stressed BioBusiness Alliance and LifeScience Alley are not merging.

A few months ago, LifeScience Alley and the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota sponsored the first ever BIO forum, a chance for the gazillion people seeking to succeed Gov. Tim Pawlenty to woo the bioscience crowd.The results were dismal. The only candidate from that group with a strong chance of winning the election, the Republican Party-endorsed [...]

Merck & Co. is no longer a drug company. Or at least that’s one of its top executives told the Innovations in Diabetes Summit in St. Louis Park, Minnesota Wednesday.Now before you start shorting Merck stock, the company, a longtime stalwart of Big Pharma, is still very much in the business of making pharmaceuticals. It’s [...]

Let there be light!Or more specifically: Let there be synchrotron light!The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota’s recent cooperation agreement with Canadian Light Source (CLS) could provide local researchers and medical device and pharmaceutical firms access to next-generation imaging technology.var page_count = “off”; if (typeof OAS_rdl == [...]

Not to sound paranoid … but …Just when you think Minnesota has turned the corner in stimulating high-tech innovation, the nagging pest otherwise known as the budget has once again reared its ugly head. And it’s not pretty.Just weeks after Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill that established the Minnesota’s first angel tax credits, the [...]

Another one bites the dust.If Minnesota is to build a vibrant biotechnology industry, as I wrote earlier today, it will need all of the homegrown talent and technology it can muster.Unfortunately, what little we did have went out the door today when Landec Corp., based in Menlo Park, Calif., said it will pay $40 million [...]

To BIO or not to BIO? That’s the question confronting Minnesota as it ponders its economic future.In some ways, the answer is obvious. The state boasts a lot of expertise and money in medical technology. Lawmakers have already earmarked millions of dollars to build a “Biomedical Discovery District” in Minneapolis and an “Elk Run BioBusiness [...]

The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota spent quite a bit of time-and money-developing BIOMAP, an online interactive cheat sheet to the state’s biosciences industry.The results are well worth it. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it. With just a few clicks, you can search and find any company, school, or research center related to medical devices [...]