Bay State's $1B [BILLION] life sciences lifeline (taxpayer-funded stem cell research)

Mass High Tech ^ | Dec 28, 2007 | Ryan Mcbride

[Disturbin]

There are plenty of stakeholders with plans riding on Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed $1 billion state investment in life sciences -- from the people for whom life-saving innovation is being developed to the scientists, educators, entrepreneurs and businesses depending on state support to thrive and commercialize.

Yet for all of the political wrangling, public discussion and media attention since Patrick introduced the bill in May, the bill has yet to move through the state Legislature, receive funding or prompt state officials to name a new executive director to the agency slated to manage the bulk of funding associated with the life sciences bill.

And even as the bill moves toward passage "early next year," say some state officials, other state and industry officials are starting to think that $1 billion isn't enough.

"What's at stake with this legislation is whether or not Massachusetts continues to lead the world and the United States in the life sciences area," said Jack Wilson, president of the University of Massachusetts.

UMass stands at a strategic intersection of the Bay State's life sciences ecosystem and is seeking support from the bill to fund life sciences projects with an estimated price tag of more than $100 million.

Among those projects, UMass seeks funding for the creation of an "advanced therapy center," Wilson said, which would research gene therapy, stem cell treatments and therapeutic uses of RNA-interference (RNAi) -- a discovery for which UMass Medical School scientist Craig Mello shared a 2006 Nobel Prize.

Patrick has appeared in UMass TV ads promoting the state university system's achievements in the life sciences and he has hit the road from Boston to Beijing to stump on behalf of the state's life sciences and clean energy sectors.

On the business side, British drug firm Shire PLC is a good example of businesses also counting on a slice of state funding to support growth. With state support, Shire plans to invest about $350 million to build out space for manufacturing and R&D at a site in Lexington. Shire would create about 500 new jobs over the next five years, including 200 jobs planned for 2007, according to company officials.

Industry watchers say growth of drug companies like Shire is critical if Massachusetts expects to build the kind of life sciences cluster strong enough to compete with the lure of support from U.S. states such as North Carolina and California, as well as a growing number of foreign countries.

Patrick's life sciences bill, set to be taken up after the new year, would provide $500 million in bond funding for capital projects. The balance of the proposed $1 billion would go to research grants, fellowships, work-force grants, and tax benefits for life sciences firms, according to the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

Daniel O'Connell, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said earlier this month the state is "on track to have the bill through the legislative process by mid-February and on the governor's desk."

The state agency created in 2006 to direct the state's life sciences investments, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, however, has been without an executive director since June, when its original director and Gov. Mitt Romney appointee Aaron D'Elia resigned.

Following D'Elia's resignation, the board hired an executive search firm to find a "well-recognized" life sciences leader to helm the center. That search, however, has so far proved fruitless as the legislation lingers unapproved.

Earlier this month, a coalition of leaders from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative met at Harvard University and talked about competition for life sciences business growth among states. The group revealed preliminary results of a business survey, with input from 20 life sciences executives, that said 75 percent of companies in the sector would consider leaving Massachusetts and 63 percent had received offers from other states to move jobs and facilities elsewhere.

State Rep. Daniel Bosley, a member of the group, noted the bill may not call for enough funding. Bosley is chairman of the state's Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, one of three legislative panels holding hearings on the life sciences bill.

"Going into this, I thought that $1 billion was a lot to spend," Bosley said. "But it's not enough."

[Disturbin]

$1,000,000,000 in tax dollars is "not enough."

We need to "invest in the future."

After all, it's for the children! [/s]

This publication should be called "Mass High Times" if they think we're on board for this.

[ClearCase_guy]

Well, the “Big Dig” was officially declared finished just a few days ago ($14.8B, I believe) — so you know they had come up with something else. This $1B estimate won’t last long at all. They will need more, more, more!

[massgopguy]

C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E W-E-L-F-A-R-E