 |
January 30, 2006
Cook Biotech to expand workforce at WL tissue engineering facilityWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Cook Biotech Incorporated, a Purdue Research Park-based tissue engineering research, development and manufacturing company, announced plans today (Monday, Jan. 30) to expand its work force in 2006.
Cook Biotech, a global biotechnology company that employs 76, is one of relatively few companies to successfully bring to market products in the emerging field of tissue engineering. The tissue-engineering technology was discovered at Purdue University and subsequently licensed, developed and manufactured by the company. Since that time, Cook Biotech has received 16 Food and Drug Administration clearances for medical products, with many of these products in use to help patients undergoing wound and burn management, fistula and hernia repair, urological surgery, and general surgery.
"The company is expanding its work force to meet a significant jump in demand for Cook Biotech's expanding line of Extracellular Matrix (ECM) products, which are being applied to many medical conditions that had been virtually untreatable," said Umesh Patel, vice president – product development and engineering. "In fact, physicians not only are telling us how well our biomaterials are performing, they're providing us with ideas for new applications."
Deb VanLaere, who oversees human resources at Cook Biotech, said that, as the biotechnology company searches for product and process engineers, Cook Biotech especially is interested in candidates who are able to make manufacturing processes more efficient or find new ways to develop and utilize the materials.
The company plans to hire approximately 15 to 20 additional personnel over the next 12 months, including at least nine product development engineers, several laboratory technicians, a research scientist, a regulatory specialist, multiple administrative support personnel and additional manufacturing employees. "Experience is important, but we also find quality candidates graduating from Purdue who have been enrolled in the university's new biomedical engineering curriculum," VanLaere said.
Cook Biotech expanded its facilities at Purdue Research Park in September 2004 to include a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing, research and development facility. As part of the expansion, Cook Biotech received tax incentives from the city of West Lafayette, and company officials predicted the expansion could lead to significant growth.
About Cook Biotech 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.
CONTACTS: Jeanine Phipps, media relations, (765) 494-0748, (765) 409-2745 (mobile), jeanine@purdue.edu
|
