The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) recently released a quarterly financial report that showed solid growth for Western Pennsylvania's largest health care provider and one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the US. It also announced that it will be begin construction on a $300M facility to house its nascent Center for Innovative Science, which "will bring together leading scientists willing to develop bold, new approaches to understanding complex diseases," according to UPMC's president. In conjunction with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC is already recruiting nationally for "a scientific leader in genetics and genomics" to head the center.
(UPMC dominates the Pittsburgh skyline with its signage on the former US Steel Building, at right, where it leases the top several floors for its headquarters and has contributed to considerable economic growth in the city's Downtown area as a result. Photo courtesy of CBRE)
Research at the new Center for Innovative Science will focus on three areas:
- personalized medicine (based on a person's genetic profile)
- cancer biology (particularly the role of viruses, the immune system and aging)
- biology of aging
The Center will be housed in a 350,000 sf facility abbutting the historic Ford Motor Company building UPMC acquired several years ago and has promised to refurbish. The site is near the Hillman Cancer Center (home of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute) in the Shadyside district of Pittsburgh. The new research Center for Innovative Science "will house laboratories and other areas for researchers working to find new and better ways to treat patients, while reducing unnecessary treatments," according to UPMC chief medical and scientific officer Stephen Shapiro. While addressing better treatment options through laboratory research, the new Center will not be a treatment facility admitting patients. The planned opening is expected in 2014.
(Image courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Highlights of the recent financial report for the quarter that ended in September 2011 include:
- UPMC’s operating revenues grew by $352 million to $2.4 billion, with an operating income of $155 million.
- UPMC’s operating EBIDA – or cash flow income – was $253 million.
- UPMC’s $3.3 billion diversified investment reserve portfolio provides for long-term sustainability.
- UPMC continues to increase services and invest in the region, with $120 million in capital expenditures.
UPMC is the largest employer in Western Pennsylvania (with over 50,000 employees) and second-largest in the state overall. It describes itself as "a $9 Billion integrated health enterprise." In 2010 it spent $137 million to support biomedical research at both University of Pittsburgh and UPMC labs.
Join Biotechnology Calendar Inc. on June 21, 2012 for the 13th Annual Pittsburgh BioResearch Product Faire event on the University of Pittsburgh campus. For more information click the button below:
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service event marketing and planning company producing on-campus life science research tradeshows nationwide for going on 19 years. We plan and promote each event to bring the best products and services to the best research campuses across the country. Life science researchers, purchasing agents, and lab managers are actively invited to attend to see the latest products and equipment and discuss their laboratory tool and service needs. See our nationwide show schedule for 2012.