BioFlorida has been hard at work in 2010 to focus on new ways to enhance your membership and to improve the business climate for biosciences in Florida. Of critical importance are our Government Affairs activities. Our Government Affairs Committee late last year approved our legislative priorities for 2010 based on your feedback from our member survey. The final priorities can be found below. I have spent most of January in Tallahassee meeting with state Executive, Senate and House leadership to set the stage for those priorities as we enter the 2010 Legislative Session.

 

Our legislative recommendations revolve primarily around entrepreneurial and early-stage company support via a state-sponsored seed fund, a matching SBIR grants program and R&D tax credits. This type of early stage support was also recently recommended in a report issued by OPPAGA – the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability. This report focused strictly on the incentives given by state and local governments to the eight research institutes over the last few years, and analyzed their progress to date. Therefore, it is important to note that this is not a comprehensive analysis of our industry statewide. Although we find it necessary to clarify some of the information presented in this report, we agree with the general conclusion for the state to consider additional focus to seed and early stage commercial activity.

 

Some press reports you may have seen painted a picture that the growth of biotechnology clusters in Florida is slower than we expected or hoped. In fact, our research institutes are moving ahead of schedule and many have already announced exciting developments, expansion plans, etc. In addition, our broader research and commercial infrastructure for the industry is growing statewide. My comments and Op Ed regarding the OPPAGA report and the subsequent press can be read on our website and has been published or excerpted by a few newspapers already.

 

As research progress continues, we MUST help our early stage companies to find the resources they need to grow and stay in Florida. We have been busy meeting with staff and policymakers in Tallahassee and D.C. to stress this need, and the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. We recognize that Florida’s budget crisis makes our requests difficult, but BioFlorida, our members and our partners have a strong united front to stress the importance of biosciences in our state. Just today, Governor Crist announced recommendations for substantial incentives to continue building our innovation economy in biotechnology and other high-tech industries. Please join us in Tallahassee on February 17th for BioFlorida Legislative Day to add your voice to our efforts and bring your message to state leaders (rsvp to wendy.hedrick@metzlaw.com). We will also soon announce plans for our first BioFlorida Day in Washington, D.C. to be held in early March.

 

If you have questions about our legislative efforts, the OPPAGA report or other BioFlorida activities, please do give me a call. With numerous BioFlorida programs coming up over the next several weeks, I hope to see you soon. Thank you for your continued support of BioFlorida and our efforts!

 

Russell Allen

President & CEO

Creation of the Florida Bioscience Resource and Education Center
The creation of a Florida Bioscience Resource and Education Center to connect the state’s life science assets and provide support in the areas of education outreach, workforce development and entrepreneurialism. The Bioscience Center would focus its efforts on four key areas: professional development; education; workforce training and industry research. The Center would leverage the state’s current investment in the bioscience industry and its available expertise, thus propelling the industry to the next level.

Seed Funding
The creation of a dedicated statewide fund that invests in seed-stage companies with technologies developed in the state’s defined innovation economy industries. The fund could be managed by any one of several existing entities such as the State Board of Administration, Enterprise Florida, Inc. or could be managed by a specialized seed-stage venture capitol investor selected through the RFP process. We recommend an appropriation of $25M to create the fund.

Small Business Research Matching Grants (SBIR and STTR)
Help Florida companies advance in the SBIR/STTR process and accelerate their commercialization activity, by matching Florida firms’ federal SBIR/STTR Phase II awards with grants of up to 25 percent of the necessary project funding. The federal government allocates more than $2 billion annually to the two highly competitive programs to encourage start-up businesses to capitalize on commercialization opportunities. Many other states have succeeded in helping their SBIR/STTR awardees obtain commercialization matching grants.

State Specific Research and Development Tax Credit Legislation
The development of a research and development (R&D) tax credit to spur high-wage, sustainable job creation in Florida, mirroring the federal program. R&D has spurred significant growth in our economy due to the technologies it generates. R&D generates at least three dollars for every one dollar invested, according to recent studies. Currently, 32 states have enacted an R&D tax credit.

Florida’s Biomedical Research Programs
SB 620 by the Senate Health Care Regulation Policy Committee to save the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program and the Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program from repeal and designate a recurring source of funding for both programs.

Cost and Benefit Analysis of Legislation
HB 93 by Rep. Steve Crisafulli authorizing that the presiding officers of the House and Senate request special impact sessions of the Revenue Estimating Conference to consider cost and benefit analysis of proposed legislation .

Expedited Regulation and Permitting
The creation of an expedited permitting process for bioscience-related projects in Florida.

BIOFLORIDA SUPPORT CATEGORIES

 

Bioscience Economic Development & Business Climate
Tax policies and state incentives to make Florida competitive with other states that are leaders in the biotech industry.

 

Commercialization / Early Stage Funding
Dedicated funding for commercialization and support for technology transfer operations to ensure that cutting-edge scientific discoveries reach the market.

 

Funding for Basic Research Programs
Preservation and funding of Florida’s Centers of Excellence at Florida’s research universities; the Florida CURED Program at the Department of Health; the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program and the Bankhead-Coley Biomedical Research Program.

 

Funding for Education / Workforce Development
Science education from elementary school through post-graduate education, as it is essential to creating a biotech-ready workforce. Florida’s colleges and universities play a vital role in the economic development of the state. We support restoring funding for colleges and universities to support ongoing operations. We oppose funding cuts unless the institutions are permitted to raise tuition.

 

Healthcare / Patient Access
Access to breakthrough therapies for all patients suffering from the most grievous diseases, including those patients in publicly-funded programs.

 

Renewable Energy
Incentives and tax credits for agricultural biomass and biofuels research organizations, which will position Florida as a leading state for providing sources of alternative and renewable energy.