SSTI Digest

A little more than a year after unveiling a comprehensive proposal to provide crucial funding for R&D, commercialization and infrastructure to position Massachusetts as a global leader in life sciences, Gov. Deval Patrick signed an historic 10-year, $1 billion life sciences investment package, transforming the ambitious idea into reality.   The signing of the bill coincides with BIO’s annual meeting, currently underway in San Diego – the same event during which the governor unveiled the proposal last year. With a typical draw of more than 20,000, the event provides an opportune backdrop for the governor, legislative and industry leaders to promote the state to biotech companies and investors. Details of the legislation were debated incessantly among lawmakers and industry leaders over the past year. The final version of the bill directs half of the money in capital funding for infrastructure, divided between targeted projects ($299.5 million) and unrestricted funds ($200 million) for investment in public infrastructure projects to be decided on by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC).   MLSC also will receive…

Gov. Martin O’Malley announced this week a proposal to build Maryland's reputation as a global leader in biosciences with a $1.1 billion investment.   Similar to the recently enacted Massachusetts Life Sciences bill (see this week’s issue of the Digest), the Bio 2020 Initiative is a long-term strategy requiring legislative approval that invests in start-up companies and increases funding for R&D. Gov. O’Malley hopes to leverage $6.3 billion in private and federal investments and create thousands of new jobs, according to a press release.   Speaking to a group of higher education leaders and investors at the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, Gov. O’Malley outlined the nine major components of the Bio 2020 Initiative: Creating the Maryland Biotechnology Center to serve as a “one stop shop” to promote and support biotechnology innovation and entrepreneurship; Doubling the biotech investment tax credit in the coming year and doubling it again within the next five years, resulting in an increase of $24 million; Increasing incubator space by 50 percent and investing $60 million over 10 years to…

In its latest bio-industry analyses, Ernst & Young reported that the global bioscience industry has yet to become profitable, but that doesn’t mean the field isn’t growing by many measures, particularly the number of jobs created. Technology, Talent and Capital: State Bioscience Initiatives 2008, prepared by Battelle for BIO, puts total U.S. employment in the biosciences at 1.3 million in 2006, up from 1.2 million in 2004.   Bioscience employment in the U.S. is led by strong growth in the research, testing and medical lab subsector, which experienced a 17.8 percent increase in employment and a 32.7 percent increase in establishments between 2001 and 2006, according to the report. And most states are working hard to ensure some of that economic development impact happens within their borders. Prepared annually since 2004, this year’s report explores more deeply the geographic distribution of the bioscience industry. Among its findings, Battelle reports: Thirty-five states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have an employment specialization (20 percent or more concentrated than the nation) in at least one of the four…

Gov. Charlie Crist signed the fiscal year 2008-09 budget into law last week, allocating nearly $79 million for energy-related projects to increase research and stimulate development and commercialization of alternative and renewable energy sources throughout Florida.   The Energy Diversity Package approved by lawmakers is significantly different from the $200 million proposal outlined by Gov. Crist earlier this year, with only a few of the original proposals left intact (see the Feb. 6, 2008 issue of the Digest). However, the appropriation is welcome news for the state’s technology-based economic development strategy, as Florida is one of many states facing a decline in revenue. Last week, Gov. Crist ordered all state agencies to reduce spending by 4 percent in the coming fiscal year.   Lawmakers appropriated funding for the following projects under the Energy Diversity Package: $50 million for the Florida Energy Systems Consortium, a group of five Florida universities, to focus on R&D of innovative energy technologies and strategies; $8.5 million for a solar field installation at Florida Gulf Coast University; $8 million…

Last week, Premier Ed Stelmach of Alberta introduced a $170 million suite of initiatives to support high-tech economic development in the province. The government hopes that by providing support for commercialization from research to market it can attract high-tech entrepreneurs from other areas. Most of the province's investment will support the creation of the $100 million Alberta Enterprise Corporation to encourage venture capital investment. A press release accompanying the announcement states that the investment will improve access to both seed-stage and venture capital. The corporation is expected to begin activities this winter.   Though venture capital investment in Canada increased by 21 percent in 2007 over 2006, investment in Alberta grew by only 3 percent. As in the U.S., the Canadian venture capital activity is largely centered in a few provinces, namely Ontario, Quebec, and to a lesser extent British Columbia. Private capital resources are harder to find in the more rural provinces like Alberta.   Another $6 million will support various initiatives intended to draw young people into high-tech entrepreneurship through "…

An initiative in Iowa to disperse tax credits worth 20 percent of equity investments into pre-qualified businesses or seed capital funds has reached its $10 million cap and will not be continued in the next fiscal year. The Iowa Venture Capital Credit – Qualified Business or Seed Capital Fund was started in 2002 with a cap of $10 million, and as monitored by the Iowa Department of Revenue, all credits have been issued.   Efforts in the most recent Iowa legislative session to increase the monetary cap of the program under House Bill 2484 by an additional $3 million did not succeed. The discontinuance of the initiative comes as the practice of utilizing tax credits in Iowa for various activities has grown dramatically over the last several years. However, the scrutiny of the tax credit programs has grown, as well.   SSTI reported on an Iowa Department of Revenue study tracking the growth of the state’s R&D Tax Credit Program (see the April 30, 2008 issue of the Digest), and in a report released in April on tax credit liabilities, the department claims the amount of tax credits awarded in FY 2001 was just over $100 million, but…

As annual appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) flattened – at the same time more and more states and universities are increasing their investments in academic bioscience research capacity – competition for NIH grants has heightened. Reports indicate investigators in the early stages of their careers and transformative research have been the victims of the squeeze.   The peer review process employed by NIH to select winners in competitive solicitation cycles, lauded for its impartiality for years, has been indicted by many recently as adding to the problem. During the first weeks of June, NIH announced plans to address some of the criticism, including a commitment of  $1 billion over the next five years for investigator-initiated, high-risk/high-impact transformative research.   The institutes also are making significant changes to enhance and improve the NIH peer review system. This marks the end of a year-long effort to determine ways to further enrich the process, which drew on thousands of comments, opinions and criticisms received throughout the year.   The…

New York City officials recently announced the launch of a $2 million seed fund to boost entrepreneurship and the local venture capital market. NYC Seed will provide up to $200,000 for seed-stage New York-based businesses and will offer mentoring and other support for client companies. The initiative is a partnership between several city and state organizations, including the Industrial Technology Assistance Corporation (ITAC), the New York City Investment Fund, the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and PolyTechnic University.   Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the announcement at the opening ceremonies for the city's inaugural Internet Week. The mayor hopes that both the event and the fund will help attract tech and digital media entrepreneurs to the city. Despite the size of New York's economy, the city has lagged behind Silicon Valley and Boston in capital resources for tech start-ups. NYC Seed is targeting extremely early-stage companies and first-time entrepreneurs. By creating this new fund and by connecting participating companies to other city resources, Mayor…

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has announced the launch of a statewide trade association to provide support to Kansas' software and information technology industry. The nonprofit has been registered with the state as the Software and Information Technology Association of Kansas (SITAKS) and is designed to support Kansas software, information technology and telecommunications companies. Susan Strommer announced she will step down as president and CEO for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) to explore a new opportunity.

Additional job opportunities are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) seeks an energetic chief executive officer (CEO) with strong organizational, interpersonal, communication, and fundraising skills to lead the association as it grows its membership and expands its reach. NASVF is the association for "innovation capitalists" - seed and early-stage investors who champion and invest in local entrepreneurs. NASVF has 120 member organizations and a network of more than 8,000 individuals. For the position of CEO, a graduate degree with five years of experience in entrepreneurial ventures, capital formation, venture capital or a related industry is required. To view the job description, go to: http://www.nasvf.org/web/allpress.nsf/pages/18166

The creation of a single organization to consolidate federal innovation investments, called for by the Brookings Institution and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) (see the April 23, 2008 issue of the Digest), moved a small step closer to reality with the introduction of authorizing legislation in the U.S. Senate.   S. 3078, the National Innovation and Job Creation Act of 2008, was introduced on June 3, 2008, by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and cosponsored by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). The bill calls for the creation of a National Innovation Council within the Executive Office of the President and several new grant programs to support state-directed technology-based economic development initiatives.   One of the missions of the National Innovation Foundation proposed by ITIF and Brookings was to consolidate federal programs involved with innovation into a single organizing office. As drafted, S. 3078 would move the following programs to the proposed council: From the National Institute of Standards and Technology, The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program; The Technology Innovation Program; The Office…

On June 5, 2008, the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg announced plans for a $200 million five-year molecular medicine initiative that draws on a strategic partnership involving three Luxembourg Public Research Centers (CRPs), the University of Luxembourg and three U.S. research institutes prominent in the field.   The U.S. research institutions include: Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, led by Dr. Jeffrey Trent; Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle, led by Dr. Leroy Hood; and, Partnership for Personalized Medicine (PPM) led by Dr. Leland Hartwell, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, and president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center also in Seattle. Three interrelated projects are involved in the plans: a biobank, a center for systems biology and Project Lung Cancer.   The next-generation model for biobanks will increase opportunities for scientific and technological collaboration across disciplines such as biology, pathology, informatics and information technology infrastructure, laboratory operations, transportation, legal matters and ethics.  …