We usually think of life sciences as a high-growth industry, but it also goes through periods of job churn. The Center for Emerging Technologies estimates that 3,000 scientists and other professionals have been laid off in the past couple of years by Pfizer, KV Pharmaceutical, Monsanto and other companies.

The CET, a business incubator in Midtown St. Louis, hopes to turn some of those layoff victims into business owners.  With grants of $465,000 from the Missouri Technology Corp. and $120,000 from Pfizer, Anheuser-Busch and Savvis, it's launching a training program called Bio Entrepreneur Development. Partners in the effort include the BioGenerator, Innovate Venture Mentoring Service, the Small Business Technology Development Centers and the Minority Business Council.

CET President Marcia Mellitz says it's not about getting enough companies to fill her incubator, which never seems to have a vacancy. Rather, it's about keeping good people here and filling a talent gap in  big-company-oriented St. Louis. Of the ex-Pfizer scientists, she says:

They know the science and they know the industry, but they don't know how to start a company. And we do have a shortage of experienced entrepreneurs to run the companies being created here.

Mellitz says the program is open to any first-time entrepreneur, whether or not they've been part of a layoff. She envisions a 10-week training course starting by spring, and hopes to train 15 potential entrepreneurs in the first class. The group's definition of biosciences includes medicine, agriculture, biofuels and information technology that's related to health care.