Gerald Gordon, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s chief executive officer, called the new biomedical nonprofit Ignite Institute’s decision to settle in Fairfax County an "economy changer."

To say so is a bold statement for Gordon. Even in the middle of a recession, Fairfax’s economy is unusually resilient. It is hard to imagine one startup could have such a large impact, particularly when you consider other newcomers to the county’s business community.

In the past six months, two high-profile businesses, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Hilton Hotels, decided to relocate their headquarters to Fairfax.

And four of the five "Fortune 500" companies Gov. Tim Kaine (D) has helped woo to Virginia over the last four years have moved to Fairfax over other locations in the commonwealth.

Gordon’s organization, whose sole purpose is to attract business to the county, has offices not only in Tysons Corner but also in San Francisco, India, Germany, England, Korea and Israel.

"This is a global business location and Fairfax County is a global brand," said Kaine to an audience packed with Fairfax employees and elected officials at the county government center Nov. 16.

KAINE, Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell (R) and Fairfax County chairman Sharon Bulova (D-At-large) spoke at a ceremony celebrating Ignite’s decision to open in Fairfax County.

Virginia employs more technology workers per capita than any other state in the country, said Kaine.

Still, Ignite has the potential to open new doors for economic growth and improvements in the local quality of life for residents, he said.

The nonprofit organization is partially modeled after the Arizona Genomics Institute located in Phoenix, Ariz. It will apply the latest genomic, biomedical and technological innovations to personal medical care, like a routine check up at the doctor’s office.

In addition to performing research, individuals will be able to get diagnoses and treatment through Ignite. The organization will be broken into different teams, where a world-class doctor and a world-class scientist will be paired up to work on a particular problem, like autism.

Ignite founder Dietrich Stephan expects that physicians at the institute would split their time between the nonprofit and Inova Health System, which will work in tandem with the organization.

"This will make a dramatic, long-term difference in health care in this region and in this commonwealth," said Knox Singleton, Inova’s chief executive officer, about Ignite’s decision to move to Fairfax.
Ignite will also partner with George Mason University and The George Washington University.

"Fairfax County and Virginia will become major players in the field of biotechnology," said Bulova.

LURING IGNITE to Fairfax took some monetary promises on the part of Virginia.

Kaine has allocated $3 million from the Virginia governor’s opportunity fund to help Ignite build "wet lab" space at the Center for Innovative Technology building in Herndon. He also hopes the Virginia General Assembly will agree to hand over $5.5 million annually for the next four years to Ignite, about one eighth of the approximately $200 million in initial funding Ignite intends to raise.


"$25 million for this state is an awful lot of money," said Kaine, who added that Ignite would bring approximately 450 jobs to the region.

The nonprofit anticipates moving out of the Center for Innovative Technology within two years and is currently considering three to four sites for its permanent $150 million facility.

Stephan would not say where Ignite is scouting locations, though access to internet broadband and a Metro station are factors in the decision.

The Ignite Institute also wants to remain close to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s facility in Loudoun County.

Traditionally, Maryland, particularly Montgomery County, has had more success attracting biomedical research organizations than Virginia has.

According to Gordon, Maryland has been "more aggressive" in offering benefits to biomedical research groups in the past and has benefited from being home to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda.

"We had a hard time competing with Maryland before because we didn’t have wet lab space," said Gordon.