Governor Kaine traveled to Fairfax County today to announce the establishment of a nonprofit medical research institute in Fairfax. The Ignite Institute, which will specialize in personalized medicine, is the first of its kind to be built from the ground up, and it could very well change the face of healthcare as we know it today.
Personalized medicine examines an individual's makeup and designs tailored strategies for maintaining health and treating illness. This approach could help doctors detect disease earlier, providing for more effective treatment, a reduction in health care costs and an overall evolution in health care from disease treatment to wellness and prevention.
In addition to the 415 new jobs created by this project, Virginia will gain much needed wet lab space in Northern Virginia. The Ignite Institute will operate temporarily from the Center for Innovative Technology, during which CIT will develop publicly controlled wet lab space to be used for the incubation of future science and research companies in the region.
The Ignite Institute’s Fairfax location allows it to work closely with the Food and Drug Administration, and provides the Institute with a pipeline of expertise and brainpower to fill the 415 new jobs this project creates. A Northern Virginia location also allows the Institute to leverage expertise in the region to complement its core team. Regional expertise includes the National Institutes of Health, a multitude of universities, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus in Loudoun County.
Governor Kaine approved a $3 million grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund that will be used toward construction of the wet lab space. The Ignite Institute also will be eligible to receive a performance-based incentive grant totaling $22 million, subject to General Assembly approval, in increments of $5.5 million per year to be paid out over a four-year period. The performance grant is tied to job creation, commitments of additional outside capital, and Ignite’s research collaboration with Virginia’s university community.
The Ignite Institute’s pioneering effort will help Virginia position itself as a leader in a new generation of industry in the healthcare sector.