HI. TECH
'Aiea firm's small success shows slow-growth potential of high-tech

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

Surveillance topic of 'Think Tech' Hear the Advertiser's John Duchemin and the latest Hawai'i technology news every Wednesday on Think Tech Hawai'i, 5 to 6 p.m. on Hawai'i Public Radio KIPO FM 89.3, with hosts Jay Fidell and Gordon Bruce. TOMORROW: "Tech in Surveillance and Homeland Security — How is Big Brother Watching You" will be the topic on Think Tech Hawai'i, featuring ACLU's Clifton Royston and city prosecutor Peter Carlisle.

We know this because, every now and then, an event occurs that shows just how much high-tech employers could do for Hawai'i if given the chance.

Last week, 'Aiea research firm Hawai'i Biotech provided a perfect example. The company confirmed it has secured $3 million from the Department of Defense to develop an antidote to anthrax toxins.

This could be a big deal for Hawai'i, potentially worth much more to the state than the relatively puny dollar amount would suggest.

The Department of Defense is asking Hawai'i Biotech to search through a vast array of natural chemical compounds, including several unique collections compiled and maintained by University of Hawai'i professors, for anything that could alleviate the post-infection bacterial poisons that make anthrax so deadly.

Hawai'i Biotech will use the money to hire several high-caliber researchers and buy robotic machines that can quickly analyze thousands of samples. The money also will support research positions at the University of Hawai'i.

In providing money for this project, the Pentagon is making several significant assumptions that bode well for Hawai'i as a whole.

First, it's trusting that Hawai'i Biotech is worthy of receiving government dollars, which is basically a no-strings-attached venture investment. This trust may come from Hawai'i Biotech's previous work with the military — developing one of the world's most promising vaccines for dengue fever, and successfully testing it on monkeys at an Army research hospital.

Second, the Pentagon is assuming that UH is a worthy source of research assets — not only of scientists, but also of raw materials. University officials have said that UH's natural compound "libraries," compiled by several professors, are a potential source of vaccines and antidotes. The Pentagon's interest seems to confirm this claim.

In sum, there's nothing not to like about this deal. It will bring quality jobs, brainy scientists, amazing machines, and collaboration between Hawai'i academics, biotechnology entrepreneurs and the federal government. If it leads to something that even hints at effectiveness against anthrax, Hawai'i's reputation as a place for high-caliber biotechnnology will only improve. And the Pentagon already seems to trust Hawai'i enough to bring a small portion of the scientific war on terror here.

One small deal, probably worth less money than one hour's revenue for the state visitor industry, does not make Hawai'i a high-tech powerhouse.

But it does show why so many entrepreneurs, business executives and public officials are still happy to talk about making technology a major sector of the economy, even as prominent tech and telecom employers have shut their doors in Honolulu through 2001 and 2002.

The challenge is to turn the occasional, isolated incidents of government grants or venture investments into a steady stream of private and public support. If $3 million to one company becomes $300 million to 100 companies, then High Tech Hawai'i truly will have arrived.

Reach John Duchemin by e-mail at jduchemin@honoluluadvertiser.com or by phone at 525-8062.