Delaware Technology Park (DTP) is a leading East Coast nonprofit research park that provides development-stage companies with access to the resources and connections they need to succeed.
DTP is a partnership between the State of Delaware, the University of Delaware (UD) and the private sector.
The first company to set up shop at DTP in 1992 was DuPont. Since then, the park has housed more than 100 companies, including 50 that have graduated. Graduates of DTP have moved to commercial locations but maintained operations in Delaware. As an example, Wilmington PharmaTech expanded to three sites, including purchasing a former DuPont facility in Glasgow. QPS Pharmaceutical Services has grown from a small lab to over 1,400 global employees and become the anchor tenant of DTP.
The Delaware Biotechnology Institute and Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology are two world-class organizations in DTP conducting cutting-edge research in life sciences. In 2017, DBI’s Director, Dr. Kelvin Lee, led a large national consortium to win the largest grant UD ever received, $250 million. The grant resulted in the creation of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals. A new building is under construction on UD’s STAR Campus to eventually carry out the consortium’s research.
“We take pride in the many DTP companies who are thriving and creating jobs in our state,” says Mike Bowman, DTP’s president. Altogether, DTP has helped facilitate more than 16,000 jobs for Delaware’s economy, both within the park and around the area. The cumulative private investments and academic and company research grants have totaled nearly $1 billion. The U.S. Council on Competitiveness and the Association of University Research Parks have recognized DTP as a model research park for its regional economic-development initiatives across the U.S. and Mexico.
In 2016, DTP’s footprint expanded with DTP@Star, a laboratory incubator for Delaware’s most promising young companies. Located on the University of Delaware’s 272-acre STAR Campus, the incubator offers access to world-renowned research facilities and faculty as well as student interns. Already, 14 new companies have started with a broad array of new technologies. “DTP@STAR represents the very best of an academic, public and private partnership to further technology and economic development through support of early-stage companies,” says Bowman.
