Pittsburgh was not picked for EDA Tech Hubs program designation

We have our answer: Pittsburgh does not have what it takes to be designated a national biotech hub, according to the US Economic Development Administration.

At the end of the summer, nearly 400 consortia across the country submitted their applications for Phase 1 of the EDA Tech Hubs program. The initiative called for consortia consisting of economic development groups, universities and local government officials to show the ways in which their regions have existing or potential hubs of innovation.

Pittsburgh represented one of the regions vying for the designation — plus the tens of millions of dollars that could have come in Phase 2, kicking off this fall. Yet it wasn’t one of the 31 hubs announced on Monday.

“These outstanding Tech Hubs Designees exemplify place-based economic development strategies at their best: combining federal resources with regional assets, expertise, and coalitions to implement transformational opportunities,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo said in the announcement.

In August, leaders of Pittsburgh’s sole consortium, which consisted of InnovatePGH, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and other unnamed institutions, told Technical.ly their application centered on the region’s biomanufacturing economy. The appeal of the designation was the federal government’s promise to help regions without the same funding or name recognition as Silicon Valley become global competitors and assist the US in its aims to become a major player in high-tech manufacturing.

At the time, Kinsey Casey, Pitt’s vice chancellor for economic development for health sciences, felt that focus was the city’s best bet due to the success its life sciences sector had already accumulated through the years.

“We wanted to figure out how we could differentiate ourselves from other regions that want to be biotech,” Casey said. “Where we really think we have an interesting strength is in partnership with [Carnegie Mellon University] and their robotics, AI [and] advanced manufacturing.”

Casey told Technical.ly via email today that although they’re disappointed in not winning a Tech Hubs designation, the consortium’s leaders are committed to continuing to contribute to the region’s technology sector. More than that, Casey wrote, consortium members still believe that the life sciences sector remains a point of pride for Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh’s role in the life sciences remains vital, with healthcare and medical advances being local drivers, the region’s strength in AI, robotics, and innovation, and the future biomanufacturing facility in the Pitt BioForge,” she said. “The work will continue through the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Alliance which will seek alternative funding strategies to advance the proposal’s integral components.”

After this story published, Technical.ly received this statement about the Tech Hubs announcement from Stefani Pashman, CEO of economic development org Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which has spearheaded other federally backed tech-advancing initiatives in the region:

“On behalf of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliates, we congratulate the 31 cities and regions designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration as technology hubs throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Designed to drive regional technology- and innovation-centric growth, by strengthening a region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy critical technologies, this designation represents an unprecedented opportunity for regions across the country.

“While we are disappointed that the region’s application for a technology hub centered around life sciences and its intersection with advanced manufacturing and AI was not chosen, we are confident in our ability to continue to build off our competitive advantages — two Tier 1 research universities, two major hospital systems, more than 160 regional life sciences establishments employing over 7,300 people in our region and more than $1 million in research dollars awarded to life sciences—to position our region to become a leading biomanufacturing hub. 

“We remain unwavering in our commitment to establish and maintain a domestic supply chain for biomanufacturing and will continue to innovate and collaborate to unite our strengths to reach this collective goal for the region. 

“We look forward to continuing to work alongside the region’s employers, talented workforce, elected officials and philanthropic and non-profit organizations to further bolster these sectors and position them to make a mark – in the region, across the nation and beyond.”

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.