Patrick announces plan to promote life sciences

David Cogger

In a move considered to be a boost to the state’s biotechnology industry, Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday a new 10-year, $1 billion comprehensive Massachusetts Life Sciences Strategy at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) 2007 International Convention at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

“The future of life sciences is here in Massachusetts,” Patrick said. “We have the talent. We have the entrepreneurial spirit. Now let’s seize the future.”

This week’s annual flagship event for the biotechnology industry provided a forum for some of the most important issues facing the scientific community, including stem cell research, genetically engineered foods and the development of biological weapons.

Boston last hosted the BIO conference in 2000. Since then, attendance has increased, with event officials estimating nearly 25,000 scientists and corporate leaders passed through the convention center for the 2007 event.

More than 70 percent of the estimated 25,000 attendees represented upper-level management from some of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, according to Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO.

Patrick’s announcement comes at a time when several states are competing for biotechnology companies to locate in their areas.

Patrick proposed using the $1 billion to fill a gap in federal funding of life science and clinical trials, which has resulted in a 13 percent drop in National Institute of Health (NIH) funding power between 1998 and 2003 and a 35 percent reduction in clinical trials overall.

The Patrick administration will make investments during the downturn to “sustain key programs,” and plans to create a Massachusetts Stem Cell Bank providing a centralized repository for stem cell lines, making them available to both public and private sector researchers.

Patrick also proposed the creation of so-called Massachusetts Life Science Fellowship Grants for research institutions to attract “rising stars” in the fields of biotechnology to the Commonwealth.

“There is no place in the world with as much talent in life sciences and biotech as here in Massachusetts,” said Patrick. “Now is the time for us to invest in that talent and bring together the resources of our unparalleled research universities, teaching hospitals and industry to work towards a common goal — to grow ideas into products to create cures and jobs.”

The governor also promised to strengthen the Massachusetts Life Science Center through new legislation that will focus on helping to further develop biotech businesses.

“It is clear to me that scientific innovation and cutting-edge research help set Massachusetts apart in the eyes of the life sciences and greater scientific community,” said Nobel laureate Craig Mello, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “This significant, new state funding is an important signal that the opportunities to do cutting-edge research in this state are expanding. Support of this type from the government, academic institutions and society allows us to further advance science and to conduct important basic, clinical and translational research.”

Harvard University Provost Steven Hyman, who is also a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and chair of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative, echoed those sentiments.

“I commend the governor for reaching out to all sectors of our life science cluster in order to craft a stem cell/life science package that recognizes the unique institutional assets and intellectual firepower in our region,” Hyman said.

For some, the news about biotech research is not so hopeful.

A small group of protesters gathered in Roxbury Sunday to protest Boston University’s proposed construction of a level-4 biohazard lab near the University Medical Center.

According to law enforcement officials, more than 1,500 protestors were expected to participate in the demonstration, but only about 150 showed up. Protestor traffic outside the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center has also been relatively light so far, with state and Boston police astride motorcycles clearly outnumbering demonstrators.

Some, like Brian Tokar of the Institute for Social Ecology, a Vermont-based watchdog organization, believe the potential hazards posed by genetically engineered foods far outweigh the benefits.

Tokar says that large corporations in the biotechnology field like Monsanto have taken control of seed production, leaving consumers with fewer choices about what they eat, and that pharmaceutical companies are producing drugs that are more costly with questionable health benefits.

“They [the drug companies] are putting out increasingly expensive drugs with increasingly dubious benefits, leading to an overdosed America,” Tokar said.