One of Augusta's biotechnology business incubators is keeping some lofty company.

A development trade magazine picked the Medical College of Georgia Life Sciences Innovation Center as one of the top five biotechnology centers in the country.

Expansion Solutions magazine targets development site selection consultants and corporate real estate brokers.

Joining Augusta on the list of winners of the 2008 Award of Excellence in Biotechnology were Baltimore, San Diego and Kannapolis, N.C., existing hubs of biotech commerce, in addition to Austin, Texas, which is an emerging investment center.

The award recognizes development organizations that have shown exceptional progress and potential in development by recruiting, retaining and assisting growing biotechnology businesses.

"When companies come here, they don't need much more than the idea," said Dr. Charles Nawrot, the associate vice president for technology transfer and economic development. "But it's not enough to put bodies in the lab. The overall intent is to transfer technology out of a laboratory and into the commercial sector."

The MCG incubator, launched in 2003, houses four entrepreneurial businesses, focusing on such ideas as an anthrax vaccine, cord blood cryogenics and medicinal properties of herb extracts.

"The innovation center is a major economic driver for Augusta and the surrounding area because many of the businesses that start there choose to remain in this area," said Walter Sprouse, the executive director of the Development Authority of Richmond County. "This award will help us boost the center's already first-rate national reputation."