In the February 27, 2004 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2004. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected.

Subscription to the SSTI Weekly Digest is free. If you are reading a forwarded copy of this issue and would like to receive your own copy each week directly, please subscribe at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm. Requests to unsubscribe also may be completed at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm.

Stowers to Double Life Science Center in Kansas City
Arizona taxpayers paid at least $100 million for the TGen Institute. The east coast version of Scripps cost Florida a cool $500-plus million. How much should Kansas City expect to pay the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to double the size of its 600,000 sq. ft. research facility instead of locating a second campus elsewhere?

Not a dime.

At least not directly. In making the announcement, founders Jim and Virginia Stowers acknowledged the efforts of city, state and academic leaders to strengthen life sciences research at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the University of Kansas.

“Virginia and I have been gratified to witness the efforts of our government leaders in Kansas and Missouri to support growth of excellent life science at both state universities," Jim Stowers said. "Their actions have reinforced to us that they are as committed as we are to making Kansas City the best place for life science research and discovery development. Our confidence in their efforts to help the two universities has led us to conclude that the next phase of growth in the research programs of the Stowers Institute should occur in Kansas City.”

The planned expansion will double the size of the Stowers Institute’s world-class scientific research facility in Kansas City. The location of the second phase of campus development has not been determined, but is expected to be constructed close to the existing site.

The timing of the expansion also has not been set, but the Stowers Institute’s board intends for construction to begin before the current facilities are filled — expected to happen within the four or five years. The institute, which opened in November 2000, already employs more than 250 people.

During the announcement, Jim Stowers noted the importance of collaborative partnership among the universities and research organizations in the Kansas City area. This concept is embodied in the creation of BioMed Valley Corporation, a new organization headed by the Stowers Institute's Co-Chair Richard Brown. The new nonprofit holding company is dedicated to discovery development, technology commercialization, and fundraising for the research partners of the Kansas City metro area.

More information on Stowers is available at: http://www.stowers-institute.org

return to the top of this page

Calif. Treasurer Commits $1.5B Toward Green Tech
California's Treasurer Phil Angelides called earlier this month for the nation's largest and third largest pension funds to invest at least $1.5 billion into environmental technologies and environmentally responsible companies. The goal of Angelides' initiative is to improve long-term financial returns for pensioners and taxpayers through investments in the burgeoning environmental technology sector, while also reducing the risks to the pension funds posed by corporate environmental liabilities.

The treasurer’s Green Wave initiative calls on California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to invest a combined $500 million in private equity investments, venture capital, and project financing to develop "clean" technologies that can provide the pension funds with positive, long-term returns. The two pension funds have a total of $250 billion in assets.

The initiative also calls for the two funds to invest an additional $1 billion into environmentally screened funds through leading active public equity investment managers with proven track records.

CalPERS has already begun studying a clean technology private equity program, with a goal of fashioning a broad, flexible and diversified portfolio of investments that can achieve positive returns in the emerging clean technology investment arena, according to Angelides' press office.

The impact of the investments, should the treasurer's Green Wave Initiative be adopted in full, could be felt across the country, as the two California pension funds are not limited geographically in where they make their investments. With the number of states committing funding and research resources toward clean energy technologies, their green firms could be on the receiving end of some of the investments.

The initiative, when implemented, also could provide a model for other states attempting to grow their clean energy industries.

More information on California's Green Wave initiative is available at: http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/news/greenwave.htm

return to the top of this page

Northeast Ohio Foundations Pool $22M for Regional ED
The Fund for Our Economic Future, a new collaboration of Northeast Ohio private, community and corporate foundations to support regional economic development, has secured more than $22 million in commitments and is expected to grow to $30 million. Launched last week, the fund is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic collaboration of its kind in the U.S.

Numerous participants are collectively providing the fund's initial $22 million. A select number of Northeast Ohio nonprofit organizations capable of strengthening the regional economy figure to benefit from the fund. By concentrating its resources on a small number of programs and pursuing them as part of an overall plan, the fund is expected to impact Northeast Ohio's economic revitalization more significantly than any other organized philanthropic grantmaking initiative to date.

The fund will address issues such as business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship, technology development and workforce preparedness. Projects that strengthen the region's core cities and demonstrate commitment to diversity in the community and equality of opportunity will be given priority.

A Funders' Committee consisting of representatives contributing $100,000 or more over a three-year period will identify, review and select funding strategies and grant disbursements. Personnel from participating foundations also will serve as volunteer administrators. Any individual or institution wishing to use its philanthropy to promote economic vitality can apply for funding.

Drawing inspiration from smaller partnerships in Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Louisville, Ky., the fund was developed with input from regional and national economic development experts. Organizers received feedback from more than 100 community leaders and others during the planning process.

The first grantees will be announced in April 2004. More information about the fund, including a complete list of participating foundations, is available at http://www.FutureFundNEO.org.

return to the top of this page

Delaware Gov. Wants $34M for Tech-based ED
As promised in her 2004 State of the State Address, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner released a New Economy Initiative last week that includes several new elements to encourage economic growth in Delaware. The $34 million package is expected to generate at least $16 million more in federal and private match. Many of the elements of the plan were recommended by the governor's Strategic Economic Council.

The largest component of Gov. Minner's proposal is a new $12.5 million Delaware Competitiveness Fund to make one-time investments in companies modernizing their production facilities. As presented in the governor's press materials, the uses for the fund could be quite broad: provided matching grants for implementing new manufacturing processes; bring in new product lines; abate taxes; find buyers for idled facilities; support employee training; and, bring R&D results into manufacturers' operations.

Other elements include:

A three-year $4.5 million commitment is included in the governor's proposal for Delaware's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The National Science Foundation will match the state contribution on a two-to-one basis.

The remaining $10 million of the package would recapitalize the state's strategic fund, which is used by the Delaware Economic Development Authority for business recruitment, retention and expansion activities.

Funding for the New Economy Initiative would be included in Delaware's FY 2005 Capital Budget and must be appropriated by the state legislature. More information is available at: http://www.state.de.us/governor/new_economy_initiative.doc

return to the top of this page

U.S. International Patent Filings Down in 2003
Those arguing that the U.S. is slipping as the world's leader for innovation have another data point to add to their arsenal. The U.S. continues to dominate international patent filings, but America's lead over other countries shrunk 12 percent last year, according to data released this week by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The total of 39,250 international patent applications filed from the U.S. in 2003 was 12 percent less than the 44,609 applications filed a year earlier. The U.S. share of all international patent filings also fell — from 39.1 percent in 2002 to 35.7 percent in 2003. The nation's filings in 2000, for comparison, represented 42 percent of the world's total patent filings.

In 2003, inventors and industry from the U.S. (35.7 percent of all applications in 2003), Japan (15.2 percent ), Germany (12.7 percent), United Kingdom (5.5 percent), and France (4.3 percent) topped the list of biggest users of the Patent Cooperation Treaty system (PCT) managed by WIPO.

International patent applications received from developing countries continued to rise; in 2003, the group saw an 11 percent increase. The list was topped by the Republic of Korea with 2,947 applications, followed by China (1,205), India (611), South Africa (376), Singapore (313), Brazil (221) and Mexico (123). Both India and the Republic of Korea saw a double-digit increase in their use of the PCT, experiencing 27.3 percent and 15.5 percent increases, respectively.

More information is available at: http://www.wipo.org

return to the top of this page

TBED Financing Included in Proposed Maine Bond Issue
Advanced research grants and equity financing are just two items slated for funding in Maine Gov. John Baldacci's $120 million revenue bond package, unveiled last week. The tech-based economic development (TBED) items would receive a combined $7 million in funding. The largest portion of the governor's package, $65 million, is dedicated to land conservation and parks. Other elements address housing, health and environmental issues.

For Maine's business and research community, highlights include:

An additional $2 million is included for improvements to the State Research Library for Business, Science, and Technology at the University of Maine.

The use of revenue bonds for financing much of the state's investment in science and technology has been the preferred strategy in Maine for many years. Since the first $20 million package was approved in 1998, Mainers have passed three referenda providing at least $108 million for R&D and other economic development initiatives. The most recent funding injection was $60 million supported by more than 60 percent of the voters in a special election last June.

If approved by two-thirds of the Maine State Legislature, the governor's new proposal will be considered during the November election. More information is available under "Headlines" at: http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/index.shtml

return to the top of this page

NJ Gov. Wants Money For Stem Cell Research, Tax Credits
"We cannot be satisfied with simply passing stem cell research legislation."

So said New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey during his State of the Budget Address on Tuesday, proposing the state fund research specifically in the controversial area. Stem cell research holds promise for treating and curing a host of devastating diseases and disorders, including spinal cord injury, brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and coronary heart disease. The best source for human stem cells are embryos, which raises ethical questions.

Gov. McGreevey wants the state to make an initial investment of $6.5 million in FY 2005 toward creation of a New Jersey Institute for Stem Cell Research. The proposed center would be run by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. According to news reports, the Governor's plan calls for approximately $25 million in state funds over five years to create the institute. Additional funding would be derived from private and federal sources.

The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer suggest New Jersey would be the first state to financially support stem cell research. Ohio made a $19.5 million commitment to create the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine last summer, however. Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic and the University Hospitals of Cleveland will provide $20 million in matching funds toward that project (see the June 20, 2003, issue of the Digest).

Gov. McGreevey's budget also requested a $20 million, or 50 percent, increase for the state's technology tax credit transfer program. The credit is one of the few in the country that allows eligible biotech or technology businesses to sell their unused net-operating-loss carry forwards and unused R&D tax-credit carry forwards to any corporate taxpayer in the state for at least 75 percent of the value of the tax benefits. They can then use the money raised for working capital to buy equipment or facilities or for other business expenses.

In FY 2005, half of the credits will be dedicated to companies located in new Innovation Zones, Gov. McGreevey says in his address. The governor's budget address is available at: http://www.state.nj.us

return to the top of this page

NC Biotech Plan Ambitious
A new plan to grow North Carolina's biotech industry to 48,000 jobs by 2013 and 125,000 by 2023 was released earlier this month by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a state-supported nonprofit organization. If implemented, the 108-page plan would cost up to $650 million over five years. That figure does not include the "to be determined" cost for 15 of the plan's 54 recommendations.

The 54 action steps span a variety of objectives:

Many of the above strategies would require state investment, while others would ask for support from the state's biotech community. Three immediate priorities are targeted for state investment — recruit and expand biomanufacturing companies, create and attract biotech start-up companies, and develop the sector throughout North Carolina.

The state's commitment to biotech was jumpstarted last year when the Golden LEAF Foundation and industry pledged $64.5 million to help build a statewide network of biomanufacturing training centers (see the August 22, 2003, issue of the Digest). Other initiatives slated for funding include $75 million for the One North Carolina Fund and $50 million to re-commit to endowed faculty chairs and establish a general fund for faculty start-up packages.

Gov. Mike Easley charged the Biotechnology Center in June 2003 with developing a long-term strategic plan to help guide future state investments in biotech. Business, education and government leaders statewide collaborated in preparing the plan. Led by a steering committee co-chaired by former Govs. Jim Hunt and Jim Martin, more than 120 participants shared ideas for strengthening key areas essential to biotech development.

North Carolina generates about $3 billion in annual biotech revenue, with 150 companies employing 18,500 workers. The state is said to be among the top five in the U.S. for biotech science, commercialization and revenue. It also represents 10 percent of the total U.S. biotech industry, according to the strategic plan.

New Jobs Across North Carolina: A Strategic Plan for Growing the Economy Statewide through Biotechnology is available through the Biotechnology Center: http://www.ncbiotech.org/strategicplan

return to the top of this page

People

Dr. Russell Bessette has been appointed to the Federal Homeland Security Science and Technology Committee. Dr. Bessette currently is the executive director of the New York Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR).

Tony Brown, director of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund at the U.S. Treasury Department, announced his resignation effective Feb. 27, to become chief executive officer of the Uptown Consortium in Cincinnati.

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce named Pamela Christenson as the first director for the new Bureau of Entrepreneurship.

Sherry Farwell has been named as the new head of the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Dr. Farwell currently serves as dean of graduate education and research at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Teri Ooms is the first director of the new Joint Urban Studies Center in Wilkes Barre, Penn.

BioFlorida named Diana Robinson as its new president.

Brian Vogt has been appointed director of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

return to the top of this page

State Science & Technology Institute
5015 Pine Creek Drive
Westerville, OH  43081
Phone: (614) 901-1690
Fax: (614) 901-1696
Email: ssti@ssti.org

© 2004 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.