Commitment to bioscience in Connecticut is strong
A
message from CURE President Paul Pescatello
 In August, Governor Malloy met with CURE members as part of his Jobs Tour. We were struck then with his enthusiasm for and commitment to the bioscience sector as the Governor talked about creating Connecticut’s own research triangle: Storrs, Farmington, and New Haven. (Click here for our report on the meeting.) That afternoon he drove from our meeting in New Haven to Storrs to formally sign Public Act 11-57 calling for creation of a world-class technology park at UConn. (Click here for UConn Today's report on the meeting.)
In an impressive demonstration of follow-through and furthering his commitment to the life sciences sector, Governor Malloy has just announced that a Maine-based genetics research institute plans to build a $1.1 billion laboratory as part of the plans for revitalizing the UConn Health Center. (See story below for more or click here.)
And in New Haven, developer Carter Winstanley plans to establish a $100 million, privately funded biotech and medical office building in the middle of Route 34. (See story below for more or click here.)
The success Connecticut biotechs continue to have in their labs, coupled with these kinds of commitments by Connecticut’s public officials, presents a strong narrative that Connecticut bioscience is managing to holds its own in a difficult economy. We may not be the largest bioscience cluster around, but the quality of the research at our companies and universities, and our commitment to the sector, is unequaled.
That includes Connecticut's commitment to stem cell research, which has been very important in drawing attention to us as a bioscience center of excellence. It has made possible the recruitment of top flight researchers to the state and fostered unprecedented and highly productive collaborations among Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and Wesleyan University.
In a recent interview with The Business Edge, the newsletter of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, I noted that the work of Connecticut stem cell researchers in creating new tissue (heart muscle, for example), creating new stem cell lines, and identifying cancer stem cells is cutting edge and world renowned. Our research to date is the best kind of basic and fundamental research that is leading the way toward effective treatments and cures for a host of diseases from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's to spinal cord repair.
As always, in the months ahead CURE will be working to educate the public and policymakers about the enormous costs as well as benefits inherent in our industry. Needing an average of $1.5 billion and upward of 15 years to bring a new medicine from idea to approved product makes us unique in many ways, not the least being the need for strong intellectual property protections and an understanding of the need to be able to recoup our huge research and development costs.
Uncertainty about the economy generally and how new federal healthcare rules and regulations will affect the availability of investors to recoup the huge research and development costs of biopharma research is making it difficult for companies — large and small — to raise capital and otherwise justify major investments in biopharma research and development.
One bright spot is passage of patent reform, a long-time goal of CURE and biopharma advocates nationwide. The America Invents Act was signed into law by President Obama on September 16, 2011. It updates our patent system, will speed the patent review process, decrease frivolous litigation and, most importantly, better protect the innovative intellectual property that is the backbone of the biopharma system. (For more background, see the Wiggin and Dana BioInsights newsletter written just before the President signed the bill.)
CURE continues to weigh in on this and other federal issues with the Connecticut delegation in Washington, D.C. and persistently works with the state to ensure that it maintains existing incentives for bioscience research and development, such as research and development tax credits and the bioscience sales and use tax exemptions.
Our challenge is to create more critical mass, more biopharma companies and suppliers, to support and expand the research triangle in Connecticut. The Malloy administration’s commitment to UConn bioscience and to stem cell research especially, is critical to establishing a larger bioscience presence in our state.
Paul R. Pescatello is President and CEO of CURE.
ppescatello@curenet.org
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