Imagine if Ohio shut down its Third Frontier program? Or Indiana were to scuttle its 21st Century Fund?
The equivalent may happen in Washington, where Xconomy reports that the state will likely gut its 10-year, $350 million Life Science Discovery Fund. The fund usually gets about $65 million in the two-year allocation, but a Senate committee slashes that budget by 41 percent – down to $38 million. A House version leaves it just $5 million, using the rest to fill other holes in the state budget.
The state fund has delivered millions to researchers involved in vaccine research, cardiac care, drug delivery and other life-science technologies. “But it can't claim to have discovered the next penicillin, and even in the best of times it would take years to show payoffs in new products, jobs, and regional prestige that such a program might be able to use to defend itself,” Xconomy notes.
Mental note to Midwest biotech recruiters: schedule trips to Washington.
Other stories worth a read:
On March 11, Chicago’s first startup demo day and conference will take place in the heart of downtown Chicago on the 12th floor of 200 S. Wacker Drive. midVentures25 has gathered 25 investor-ready startups from the Midwest to compete for over $10,000 in products and services from event organizers and partners.The 25 companies, chosen on merit for participation, will demo their products and services to over 500 members of the Midwest technology community. An expert panel of judges including Andrew Mason, founder and CEO of Groupon, and Chuck Templeton, founder of OpenTable, will choose the top five finalists to give 3-minute pitches to the entire audience. From the top five, one winner will be chosen by the judges.
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Innovation, influence and business in America's medical cities.
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