PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an orderly wind-down of the non-profit biomedical research institute. As a result, the Institute’s 34 remaining employees will be laid off over the next 6-weeks with all operations scheduled to completely cease by October 1, 2015.
“This is a sadly disappointing outcome,” stated Dr. Richard Jove, VGTI Florida’s President and Institute Director. “We worked so hard over the last two years to attract a key strategic partner to invest in our research mission to continue in Port St. Lucie, but we were unsuccessful.”
VGTI Florida’s failing was attributed to the cumulative effect of multiple factors including the lack of a university affiliation, National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget cuts, and the large debt burden associated with the construction of its 100,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility at the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie.
Dr. Jove outlined next steps, “Our priority focus is to maximize value for the benefit of creditors to the very best of our ability given the current situation. We are equally committed to our employees, as we are providing assistance efforts to help find new opportunities and positions for our extremely talented scientists, research teams and staff.”
VGTI Florida sincerely thanks the citizens of Port St. Lucie and the Treasure Coast for all of the community support over the years and greatly regrets the circumstances that led to this outcome.
Due to pending litigation with the City of Port St. Lucie, VGTI Florida has been advised by its legal counsel not to grant media interview requests at this time.
About VGTI Florida:
The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida) is an independent, 501(c)(3), non-profit, biomedical research institute established in 2008 with the assistance of a $60 million grant from the State of Florida’s Innovation Incentive Fund intended to anchor and drive the State’s expansion strategy for biomedical research. For more information, please visit: www.vgtifl.org.
