OPPAGA Recommends Next Steps for Florida Biotech

A recent report by the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) recommends the state’s next steps to develop its biotechnology industry should include the creation of a privately managed early-stage capital fund for investing in start-up companies, to be financed by the Legislature. The report also contends that the state should consider the creation of an “early seed gap” fund to assist university researchers in the commercialization of their discoveries, and it should improve accountability for the performance of state-supported biotech initiatives.

 

These recommendations come when Florida has made substantial recent investments in the hopes of enhancing the state’s biotechnology industry. Some of the well publicized financial incentives provided by the state to influence laboratory recruitment include $310 million for the Scripps Florida Research Institute, $155 million for the Burnham Institute and $32 million for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. Additionally, Florida has created two biotechnology Centers of Excellence, one in biomedical and marine biotechnology at Florida Atlantic University and the other in regenerative health biotechnology at the University of Florida. Other pieces of the biotech strategy included the completion of business incubators with laboratory space at three universities, the establishment of tax credits for certain capital investments, and the creation of biotechnology curriculum programs at educational institutions. After establishing these and other programs, the Florida Legislature then asked OPPAGA to identify the challenges facing the state for future biotech development and to provide suggestions on how to confront these challenges.

 

The two main problems identified in the report were the lack of capital for start-up biotechnology companies and the challenge of maintaining a long-term commitment to developing a strong biotechnology industry. If state-sponsored investment funds were to be established, OPPAGA recommends that the task should be carried out by an entity that will establish performance measures and provide the legislature with performance reports. In addition, the entity should be occasionally reviewed by an independent third party.

 

Finally, in order to improve accountability, the report recommends that every agency, educational or research institution, or other organization that receives state funding for biotechnology research and commercialization should provide annual reports on its progress, using a variety of innovation metrics for self-evaluation. All of these reports should then be directed to a single source, specifically Enterprise Florida Inc., to assist with the preparation for its annual strategic plan and long-term goals for the state.

 

This report, which provides a detailed overview of all of the components of Florida’s biotech strategy and possible future initiatives, can be found at: http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/pdf/0671rpt.pd