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September 10, 2004 Cook Biotech cuts ribbon for expanded tissue-engineering facilityWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Cook Biotech Inc., a nine-year-old Purdue Research Park tissue-engineering company, unveiled a new 55,000-square-foot manufacturing, research and development facility today (Friday, Sept. 10) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The $7 million building expansion could lead to as many as 200 new jobs. The expansion, which quadruples the company's West Lafayette facility, includes new clean-room manufacturing space where Cook Biotech transforms a portion of porcine (pig) small intestine into strong, sterile, pliable sheets that work as a scaffold to facilitate the growth of new tissue. The tissue-engineering technology was discovered at Purdue University and subsequently licensed, developed and manufactured by the company. Cook Biotech has received 13 clearances from the Food and Drug Administration for medical product applications in the areas of wound care, burn management, hernia repair, urological surgery and general surgery. "We are gratified by the strong interest that physicians have expressed in our medical products, and we now have a state-of-the-art facility that will be capable of supporting the company's growth," said Mark Bleyer, president of Cook Biotech. Cook's expansion and commitment to stay in the community is supported by West Lafayette Mayor Jan Mills. "The city of West Lafayette is pleased to be able to provide the tax incentives and quality of life amenities that encourage companies like Cook Biotech to remain and expand in our community," Mills said. Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president and treasurer of the Purdue Research Foundation, the entity that administers the research park, said, "Cook Biotech's expanded facility is a welcome addition to a growing life sciences cluster at the Purdue Research Park. This facility is a testament to the results that occur when Purdue's technological discoveries are developed by industry experts into companies that produce high-paying, high-skill jobs for Indiana." The expansion is located at located at 1425 Innovation Place, directly behind the company's original facility in the Purdue Research Park. The park encompasses 591 acres in West Lafayette and is home to the largest university-affiliated, state-of-the-art business incubator complex in the nation. Within the park, 104 businesses, of which 58 are high-tech, employ more than 2,200 people. The park's life sciences cluster also includes Bioanalytical Systems Inc., Endocyte Inc., SSCI Inc., MED Institute and Akina Inc. Cook Biotech, a Cook company with shared ownership by Cook Group Inc., Purdue Research Foundation and Clarian Health Partners, is actively developing extracellular matrix (ECM) technology and biological scaffolds for numerous medical purposes. Medical products utilizing Cook's licensed and patented ECM technology currently are marketed worldwide for use in wound management and surgical repair of soft tissues. Together with a network of medical practitioners, Cook Biotech is identifying the medical needs most compatible with ECM technology and developing products to meet these needs. Writer: Jeanine Phipps, media relations, Purdue Research Park, (765) 494-0748; jeanine@purdue.edu Sources: Madia Milks, marketing communications coordinator, Cook Biotech Inc., (765) 497-3355, milks@cookbiotech.com Wyatt Hornsby, public information officer, city of West Lafayette, (765) 775-5104, whornsby@mail.city.west-lafayette.in.us PHOTO CAPTION: A publication-quality photograph is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2004/cook-ribbon.jpg |
