Biomedical research funds await

The Washington state government will start handing out millions of dollars for biomedical research projects in 2008, and Eastern Washington needs to start planning for its share now, the head of a new state agency said Tuesday in Spokane.

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund ought to give Washington a much stronger biotech economy, said Lura Powell, the chairwoman of the fund’s oversight board. That was the intent anyway when legislators created the fund during the 2005 session to use $350 million from the state’s share of the federal tobacco lawsuit settlement. Legislators also set aside $1 million to set up an office and hire staff to run the program as a new agency within the governor’s office.

Starting in 2008, the fund will hand out at least $35 million a year for 10 years. Programs and projects that demonstrate strong potential for creating new medical services or therapies will be the recipients, Powell told a group during an information session in downtown Spokane.

“I would encourage you in Eastern Washington not to wait until we call for proposals to develop ideas,” she said. “You need to start now.”

A high priority of the fund is rewarding collaborative proposals that bring together private industry, higher education and nonprofits, Powell said.

She is the chairwoman of an 11-person board directing the program. Also on the board are Jim Cook, a Washington State University professor, state Sen. Lisa Brown, a Spokane Democrat and Senate majority leader, and former Gov. Gary Locke.

Other states are using their tobacco settlement money on similar biotech initiatives.

“The state of Washington is a leader in medical research, but the state (government) hasn’t been a major investor in that effort,” said Powell, noting that based on support for scientific research, Washington ranks low compared with other states.

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund board will hold a retreat in May to hammer out some of the issues still needing to be resolved.

Among them are: clarification of how state money can be provided to private companies without violating the “no-gifting” provision of the state’s constitution, and developing a review process to evaluate proposals brought to the board for funding, said Powell.

State law doesn’t allow state agencies to hand money directly to private companies. But Powell said the state attorney general’s office is suggesting the fund, with a unique mission, will have the authority to provide money to regional projects. The key issue, said Powell, is the fund’s ability to show that projects involving private companies will benefit the public and the effective delivery of health services.

Yet to be defined is whether every proposal from private industry will need a public partner, said Powell. Even so, the goal will be to include private industry whenever possible, to push research toward development and commercialization.

That’s the ultimate target, she said — creating a host of new companies and high-paying jobs from the fund’s investments.

Another state-funded entity, the Life Sciences Fund Coalition, has the job of raising another $700 million to be used as matching money along with the Life Sciences Discovery Fund. That money could come from any non-state source, Powell said, including federal grants and industry contracts.