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Bioscience firms about to get state boost Every state thinks hitching its sail to the bioscience trend could be an economic savior, but "a shotgun approach" to developing such businesses won't work, said a man who knows well what it takes to succeed in the field. Trans Ova Genetics CEO Dr. Jan Schuiteman of Sioux Center said Iowa needs to be more focused on what it does well to build firms that pay roughly $12,000 more in salary than the state average of $28,000. To that end, 14 months ago Gov. Tom Vilsack came to Sioux City to announce a long-term plan to plant Iowa as a leading biotechnology-producing state in the nation. A Battelle Memorial Institute-created plan unveiled at the time pointed to the possibility of funding $30 million per year for a decade to help develop such firms by working with both private business and the state universities. That $300 million could leverage $1.5 billion in bioscience spending in Iowa, the Battelle plan said. The Biosciences Alliance of Iowa group has since been meeting to put forth three proposals for $2.7 million in state funding from the Iowa Values Fund economic development pool. Twenty-two specialized firms in seven bioscience areas have put forth proposals, and the three choices will be announced Oct. 22. It is getting down to where the rubber hits the road," Schuiteman told the Journal's editorial board. Iowa Department of Economic Development biosciences coordinator Karen Merrick said the goal is to get more funding from the Legislature in 2006, more in line with the Battelle recommendations, but $26 million next year would be welcomed. Schuiteman, a veterinarian who helped build the cattle cloning and embryo transfers firm into the poster child for biotech in Iowa, said "if we are just going to go ask for more money, in my opinion, 'Wrong answer'." Rather, he said, the "goal is to align research and industry" and "to find visionary leaders, because that is what it is going to take to get to the next level." Added Merrick, whether a fledgling bioscience entrepreneur is "in a garage or a university," the alliance can help determine if the idea could blossom with proper funding and support. Merrick said the Battelle recommendations are apt in focusing on finding a niche where Iowa fits into bioscience. With the great education and work ethic of the people and resources of the three universities, alliance member Dave Tierney of Monsanto said, there is no reason why bioscience jobs should go to North Carolina and California. "If we do nothing, the majority of those jobs will migrate to the coasts," Tierney said. Merrick also pointed optimistically to the future. "It used to be that universities and business didn't speak the same language," yet had the same goals—to use scientific innovations for the advancement of the state of Iowa. Walt Plosila, of Battelle was the primary drafter of the plan, which he said had the goal of having 130 new bioscience business start-ups by 2014. The seven bioscience subcategories in the Battelle report include animal systems, bioeconomy, imaging, advanced foods, biodefense/biosecurity, genomics and drug discovery.
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