Bio Buzz: Life Science Investment Spurs Bipartisanship at its Best at BIO 2008

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--At least a dozen state capitals are missing their top officials this week, as governors from across the country made their way to San Diego to attend the annual 2008 international BIO conference (June 17-20). With nary a word on the looming presidential elections or political affiliations from any of them, the governors were united in an effort to tout their successes in attracting and retaining life-science investments in their home states. The economic and educational benefits of establishing research and production sites seem to be the one thing that all of them agree on despite their political affiliations.

Within one 30-minute window of walking the floor of the massive San Diego Convention Center on Tuesday, June 18, attendees had their choice of listening to Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and, of course, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite the bodyguards and bustling camera crews, these three in particular mingled at their respective state's displays. Foreign visitors, in particular, seemed awed and amazed at being up close and personal to elected officials. Even several from the domestic crowd were snapping pictures or calling their offices, bragging about rubbing shoulders with the Governator.

At the orange-splashed Georgia pavilion, Gov. Purdue was elated as he announced the pending construction of the National Health Museum in Atlanta at the Centennial Olympic Park. With his state in line to host the BIO 2009 convention, Purdue said, "The museum, combined with other Georgia-based institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, the Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society, cements Georgia's position as the crossroads of global health in the 21st century." He also thanked The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) (Atlanta, Georgia) for its $1 million donation to the museum. The museum, which is being designed by architect Moshe Safdie, is expected to bring 135 jobs and about $230 million in initial investment to the state.

A stroll across the show floor to Virginia's exhibit had Gov. Kaine eagerly discussing his state's success in landing major capital project investments in the industry. Near the top of his list is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Campus in Loudoun County, Virginia. The $500 million center opened in 2006 and added 300 jobs. Its focus is to solve fundamental problems in basic biomedical research that are difficult to approach in academia or in the industry. On the manufacturing side of business, Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation continues a multi-phased project to expand its site in Petersburg that is ultimately worth $260 million in total investment value. The state made a stunning save following a huge potential loss after Eli Lilly & Company's (NYSE:LLY) (Indianapolis, Indiana) decision to pull the plug on its $325 million insulin manufacturing plant. The drug development giant Covance (NYSE:CVD) (Princeton, New Jersey) scooped up the brand new plant and will invest at least another $175 million into the site.

Greeted like the movie star he is, Gov. Schwarzenegger held court at the huge California exhibit and was the keynote speaker at Wednesday's luncheon. A firm supporter of biotech, he proudly announced that while it may be a surprise to most "...at $74 billion, biotech is bigger to California than Hollywood..." He explained his personal interest and support in the state's aggressive effort to pump up stem cell research, noting his father-in-law Sargent Shriver's battle with Alheizmer's. "...It breaks my heart. ...I've witnessed the disease firsthand, along with millions of others and know that changes need to be made," he said.

California is investing more than $3 billion to back stem cell research, and a new collaboration with Canada supporting that effort was announced. The three-year agreement in the form of the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will receive $100 million in Canadian funds for research by scientists in Canada and California. The consortium is a landmark nonprofit corporation that brings together governments, universities and the private sector all focused on a common cause.

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