SSTI Digest

The Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) has launched a collaborative partnership of more than 90 contract research organizations (CROs) to help the region compete in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. BioResearch Central will help promote the Greater Kansas City region as a destination for pharmaceutical R&D at a time when drug companies are increasingly looking overseas for their contract research needs. The announcement follows the release of a KBA commissioned study that suggests pharmaceutical contract research is a $90-$105 billion industry in the U.S., much larger than previous estimates.

Lawmakers in several states will consider legislation this year aimed at solving the workforce disconnect as states continue to struggle with unemployment and look for ways to attract industries in emerging fields. Many of the recent proposals, including those in Connecticut and Massachusetts, focus on revamping oversight of higher education and workforce training to offer better tools and a quicker path to a degree and skills matched with the needs of businesses. In Missouri, a new Innovation Campus will allow high school students to train for high-tech careers while they earn college credit and, in South Dakota, the governor wants to recruit 1,000 skilled workers from outside the state. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy earlier this month proposed legislation making changes to the Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS) in order to tailor programming to the needs of employers. In addition to programmatic changes, the governor wants to change the governance of CTHSS to an independent, 11-member board whose members are made by appointment, removing oversight from the State Board of Education.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, and New Mexico. Our first installment was in the Jan. 11 Digest. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, State of the State Address, Jan. 19, 2012 "I also thank you for working with me to create a merit scholarship that gives all Alaska's children an incentive to complete a more rigorous high school curriculum. ... "... In its first year, this scholarship has been a remarkable success. Now we must secure it for future years. This legislative session, let us take the $400 million that we set aside last year, and build a strong fence of moral obligation around it. Let us create a fund for that money so the fund's earnings can pay for these scholarships for future generations." Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, State of the State Address, Jan. 12, 2012 "We established the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) to foster collaboration and idea-sharing across private sector, academic and public lines, including the 29 research laboratories in Colorado. ... "...

The Idaho Department of Commerce has named Gynii Gilliam as its new chief economic development officer. Gilliam brings more than 20 years of experience to the position. Most recently, she served as executive director of Bannock Development Corporation.

David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, will step down from the position Dec. 31.

Tim McLaughlin and Bob Merritt have been selected for leadership positions within the Delaware Economic Development Office. McLaughlin, formerly with the Delaware State Housing Authority, is taking over as director of business development, overseeing DEDO's recruitment efforts. Merritt, who was vice president of the First National Bank of Wyoming's loan department, joins DEDO as capital resources director, overseeing management of Delaware's Strategic Fund.

TechColumbus has appointed Tim Haynes, vice president for membership and marketing, as interim CEO beginning Jan. 1. Previously, Ted Ford, who spent six years as the organization's CEO, announced his plans to leave the post at the end of this year.

Building on a decade of work by the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences, BioSTL launched last month to provide funding and support for emerging bioscience companies. The group also will dedicate resources such as training and recruiting entrepreneurs and increasing venture capital investment to collectively benefit partner organizations working to increase bioscience activity in the region. Washington University in St. Louis, BJC HealthCare, and the St. Louis Life Sciences Project each committed $2 million per year for five years, totaling $30 million to launch the effort. A majority of the funds will be dedicated to pre-seed and seed investments to support new company formation.

Gov. Jay Nixon last week signed into law the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) nearly two years after first proposing the initiative (see the Jan. 6, 2010 issue of the Digest). MOSIRA creates a funding source to grow research and technology companies by capturing a percentage of the growth in state revenue over a base year (fiscal year 2010) from a designated group of science and innovation companies. The Missouri Technology Corporation will administer the funds, reinvesting them through loans and other means in programs designed to create jobs, nurture startups and bring science and technology companies to the state, according to the governor's office. Implementing the bill may prove to be a challenging task, however. The bill, SB7, contains a clause that makes it contingent on the passage of a larger economic development incentives bill, which failed to pass in the legislature. The ultimate decision may come from the courts who could decide whether or not to void the contingency wording, reports The Kansas City Star. The governor's signature on the bill allows the state to initiate steps toward implementing the measures.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the latest governor to call a special session focused on economic development proposals he says will create jobs (see the Sept. 7, 2011 issue of the Digest). Gov. Walker issued the executive order last week, calling it a "Back to Work Wisconsin" special session.

Among the proposals lawmakers will consider is the creation of a grant fund to provide capital for biotech companies by allocating and reinvesting a portion of the growth in income taxes from the bioscience industry into new tech firms. The Next Generation Jobs Act (LRB 2861) creates both a reserve fund and a 12-member board to make the grants, issue loans, and make direct investments in bioscience businesses headquartered in Wisconsin. The fund would be capped at $50 million annually and $500 million over the 15-year life of the program.

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions. A bill to revive the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, which failed in the legislature last year, recently passed the House with broad, bi-partisan support, restoring hope for the program that aims to grow science and technology companies. Meanwhile, two bills in Connecticut seek to boost technology transfer and lawmakers in Alaska and Florida are pushing for statewide R&D tax credits. An overview of select bills relating to TBED is included below.

Governor Jay Nixon has released the final report from a year-long effort to design a five-year economic strategy for Missouri. The report identifies seven target clusters for development, including advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, biosciences, health sciences and services, information technology, financial and professional services, and transportation and logistics. Recommendations include a new science and technology/innovation fund, an R&D tax credit, an angel investment tax credit and cluster-based career training. Read the plan...

Alabama then-Governor-elect Robert Bentley on January 3 named former House Speaker Seth Hammett as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Interim Director Linda Swann. He also appointed the president of the Birmingham-based Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Bill Taylor, to lead efforts to grow and retain existing Alabama industries, while at the same time recruiting new businesses to the state.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper nominated Dwayne Romero, president of Related Snowmass, to be the new director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

Florida Governor Rick Scott fired John Adams, the current president of Enterprise Florida, so that he can choose a new leader to help promote his job creation and economic development agenda.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Vermont. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 issues of the Digest.

Two economic development reports, one outlining strategic initiatives to transform the state's economy and the other making recommendations for reforming the state's tax programs, were delivered last week to Gov. Jay Nixon. The governor's Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, launched in May, submitted initial job-creation proposals focused in the areas of advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, bioscience, health science and service, information technology, financial and professional services and transportation and logistics. Meanwhile, a 27-member commission established by the governor to review the state's tax incentive programs suggested eliminating 28 tax credit programs, including the film tax credit, which they say should be replaced with a new angel tax credit program to address the financial gap serving as an obstacle to growing new businesses.