EMERGING GROWTH SECTOR:
Life Sciences and Bioengineering
Task Force Report
October 16, 2013
Gene D’Amour
Kenneth Eilertsen
Don Gaver
Eric Guilbeau
Gus Kousoulas
Laura Levy
Quentin Messer
Aaron Miscenich
Joseph Moerschbaecher
Sandra Roerig
Joe Simmons
Economic Impact of Life Sciences
and Bioengineering in Louisiana
• National Institutes of Health funding to Louisiana totaled $141 Million in
FY07, generated $288 Million in new business activity, and created and
supported 2,754 new jobs at $38,746 average wage per new job created
(“Global Health in Your Backyard, Families USA, 2008;
http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/global-health/in-your-own-backyard.pdf ).
• NIH funding to Louisiana totaled $168 Million in FY12.
• Battelle reports $430 Million of life sciences and bioengineering research
in Louisiana. Applying the above-referenced multiplier (2.05), this is
predicted to generate $882 Million in new business activity and 8,399 new
jobs.
• Much of the research funding comes into Louisiana from out-of-state
sources. It does not just circulate within the state, but is new money to
Louisiana.
• Life Sciences and bioengineering are major areas of employment focus
in the state’s universities at all levels of staffing. Bioscience sector jobs pay
a 75% higher average wage than non-bioscience jobs.
Economic Impact of Life Sciences
and Bioengineering in Louisiana
• The estimated economic impact of the downtown New Orleans BioDistrict
alone over 15 – 20 years is 34,000 jobs, $3.3 Billion in economic activity,
$2 Billion in increased personal earning, $1.9 Billion in state sales tax
generated and $1.4 Billion in local tax generated.
http://biodistrictneworleans.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ExecutiveSummary-2013.pdf
• Albemarle, located in Baton Rouge, is the country’s major producer of
raw ibuprofen, also herbicides and pesticides. The company employs
4,000, serves customers in 100 countries and is traded on the NYSE.
•In addition to health sciences, the agricultural sector is a major interface
between university and industry in Louisiana. LA agricultural and natural
resource industries contributed an estimated $11.4 Billion in 2012.
• Competitive advantages of Louisiana in the Life Sciences and
Bioengineering include strong chemical and agricultural industries, tax
credit and facilitation programs, and quality of life/cost-of-living
advantages.
HIGHER ED AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES FOR
COLLABORATION – EMERGING GROWTH SECTOR INITIATIVES
Emerging Growth Sectors
Short-Term Opportunities
(< 12 months)
Life Sciences
and
Bioengineering
• Identify and make available a current, informative,
searchable database of university and industry talent,
resources, and needs.
• Expand programs of regional workshops to bring
principals together at the university-industry interface.
• Develop mechanisms to support ongoing collaboration
between universities and local/state economic
development organizations.
• Support the state-wide Biotechnology Industry
Organization (BIO) Chapter to foster industry and
university involvement.
• Encourage legislative action to establish a dedicated
funding source for the MediFund created during the
previous legislative session.
HIGHER ED AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES FOR
COLLABORATION – EMERGING GROWTH SECTOR INITIATIVES
Emerging Growth Sectors
Intermediate-Term Opportunities
(12 - 36 months)
Life Sciences
and
Bioengineering
• Optimize university workforce development to match
industry needs.
• Identify bureaucratic roadblocks to productivity and
resolve them.
• Promote the use of the Louisiana Technology
Commercialization Tax Credit program and the Angel
Investor Tax Credit.
• Incentivize faculty to engage in research
commercialization and industry interaction. Recruit and
retain faculty who do.
• Develop the industry potential in health data analytics,
“Big Data” and bioinformatics.
HIGHER ED AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES FOR
COLLABORATION – EMERGING GROWTH SECTOR INITIATIVES
Emerging Growth Sectors
Long-Term Opportunities
(> 36 months)
Life Sciences
and
Bioengineering
• Develop angel and venture funds for pre-seed and
proof-of-concept support.
• Provide infrastructure to support early stage research
toward commercialization of value-added products and
services.
• Develop the industry potential for downstream
processing to produce value-added products from
materials we already manufacture, particularly “fine
chemicals” and bio-pharmaceuticals.
• Develop Louisiana’s comparative medicine research
programs and nonhuman primate research centers to
meet industry needs.
ACTION PLAN: LIFE SCIENCES AND
BIOENGINEERING
Recommendations for Short Term:
• LA BoR to establish Office of Life Sciences and Bioengineering to coordinate statewide activities, including engagement of commercial vendor to provide databases.
• Louisiana Innovation Council to develop mechanism for expanding regional
programs and workshops following BioInnovation Center model.
• LED to support state-wide BIO Chapter including representation of universities and
industry at BIO national meetings.
• LED to formalize a state-wide, university-based Research and Technology
Commercialization Council, through the aegis of the Louisiana Innovation Council, to
interact with local and state economic development organizations.
• LED, MPRAC, university Government Affairs staff, and others to aggregate plans and
recommendations that require legislative action, and to develop a plan to build
legislative consensus.
ACTION PLAN: LIFE SCIENCES AND
BIOENGINEERING
Recommendations for Intermediate Term:
• University leadership to review, plan and promote graduate programs and technical
certifications that support life science and bioengineering industry needs.
• Improve communication and revision as needed of State ethics laws regarding
involvement of university employees in commercial enterprise. Provide clear and
well-communicated guidelines for COI management and industry engagement for
university employees.
• LED to publicize and promote the R&D Tax Credit Program and the Angel Investor
Tax Credit Program, and to resolve inefficiencies in operation.
• University leadership to review academic policies in support of research
commercialization and technology transfer as metrics of productivity.
• University leadership and LA BoR to develop state-wide rewards to recruit and
retain faculty who excel in research commercialization and technology transfer.
• LED and university research leadership to work together to exploit new industry
opportunity of interest to healthcare IT companies.
ACTION PLAN: LIFE SCIENCES AND
BIOENGINEERING
Recommendations for Long Term:
• LED to work as a state-wide resource to mobilize development of venture fund for
proof-of-concept support. Critical to identify management talent for the fund,
perhaps in alumni networks.
• Technology Incubators, BioInnovation Centers and LED to develop “graduation
facilities” to be used as companies outgrow available services. Consider a statewide technical assistance program to move technologies forward.
• Expand and secure support for the statewide network of not-for-profit business
incubators that focus on new bioscience start-up companies.
• LED to consider opportunity lost by exporting materials manufactured in Louisiana
to other states for production of health-related value-added products. Consider
building opportunities for downstream processing in Louisiana.
• Leadership of university comparative medicine programs and non-human primate
centers, together with LED, to develop a strategic plan to tap unique capacity for
drug and device development.