PEORIA, Ill. — Local leaders held an informational meeting Tuesday for Peoria Bio-Made, a push to make the city a global hub in the biotech industry.
Jacob Becraft, co-founder and CEO of Strand Therapeutics, said Peoria is in a unique position to become a central location for the booming industry.
“The community support has truly been humbling since we publicly announced this initiative,” said Becraft.
Becraft went on to say any business should be attracted to Peoria because of the strong sense of “oneness” and community that exists.
Becraft said he wants to see more diverse and STEM opportunities in the Peoria area, which would be created by bringing the biotech business to the area.
Many local leaders, including Distillery Labs Executive Director Paul Leamon, mentioned the low cost of living and operation in Peoria as a huge bonus to bring any business to the area.
“The vision of Distillery Labs over the next decade plus is to put Peoria on the national map as one of the best places to build and grow a company from ground up,” said Leamon.
Success will be judged by the number of new businesses in the area as well as new employees brought in, according to Leamon.
According to PeoriaBioMade.org , establishing Peoria as a hub for biotech will grow the local economy by creating thousands of high-paying jobs.
Becraft mentioned the groundwork is already laid down in Peoria for manufacturing, as companies like Caterpillar have been operating in the city for years.
Director of Business Attraction for Greater Peoria Economic Development Council Lenora Fisher said Peoria is in a great position to bring in workers for the industry because of the number of colleges and universities in the surrounding areas.
The group plans to hold more informational meetings going forward.
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