PROVIDENCE – Between her work at Brown University and Care New England Health System, Dr. Audrey Tyrka sees a wealth of promising health innovation in the Ocean State. But competing at the highest level of biotech innovation requires more resources, she says.
“We already have innovative partnerships within the industry, but we don’t really have the infrastructure we need to take Providence to a new level to be a life sciences innovation center,” Tyrka said.
Inside Scoop on PC’s Sports Administration Program
This past August Providence College announced its newest graduate program, an online Master of Science…
Learn More
Tyrka, along with other leaders at Care New England, Lifespan Corp., Brown University and the University of Rhode Island hope that the proposed Rhode Island Life Science Hub Act will help to make this system more cohesive.
Last month, executives from the state’s two largest health systems, as well as its two most prominent research universities, spoke before the House Finance Committee in favor of the proposed “hub,” introduced by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi in May, which would establish a quasi-public corporate body and state agency tasked with overseeing life science and biotech development in Rhode Island.
These efforts would draw from $45 million set aside for the life sciences in Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s fiscal 2024 budget, which has passed the House, and create a board of directors drawing from the life science, health care, academic and state government sectors.
It’s an investment that Tyrka, professor and vice chair of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown, as well as a psychiatrist and chief scientific officer at Care New England, believes “would really evolve us to be a major force in biotech,” she said.
The health system is already involved in partnerships working on innovative solutions, she says, such as Alzheimer’s disease drug development, neurostimulation approaches for mental health conditions, “innovative biotech platforms” to diagnose neonatal health conditions and improve outcomes, and mobile technology approaches to health care.
“But these tend to be individual industry partnerships,” Tyrka said, “and we could really benefit dramatically from investment in the infrastructure needed to take it to a new level.”
Through this infrastructure, CNE, Lifespan and Brown could continue “to develop shared research infrastructure,” Tyrka said, and “expand our opportunities to build something together.”
As to what that infrastructure could look like, she said the partnership has a pressing need for more lab space in addition to other biotech and engineering equipment and intellectual resources.
Dr. Mukesh K. Jain, senior vice president for health affairs and dean of medicine and biological sciences at Brown, spoke on similar gaps and opportunities he sees in the hub.
“The agency will be able to bridge these gaps by providing the funding to create dedicated incubator space for Rhode Island-based life science companies,” Jain said.
“I also anticipate the agency being able to help facilitate the development of medical advances and scientific breakthroughs through investment in the most promising technologies,” he continued, “and by providing workforce development resources so that we can successfully compete in national and international life science industries.”
It’s coming at a time when CNE, Lifespan and Brown are pushing forward yet again on their own collaborative initiatives: In November 2022, the three institutions signed an aligned research collaboration agreement that they say will streamline and accelerate research between them.
Attempts at increased collaboration between the state’s two major health systems and the academic sphere recall familiar conversations – most prominently, Lifespan, Care New England and Brown University attempted to merge into an integrated academic health system, though Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha blocked this attempt in early 2021, stating that the joint application lacked details on what this system would look like and how it would benefit Rhode Islanders.
But even without this plan, the applicants have said that they had, and continue to foster, strong ties and that the biotech hub is another way to continue forward on this pathway.
Shekarchi’s proposal also brings the University of Rhode Island further into the fold. When reached for comment, a URI spokesperson deferred to Parlange’s remarks at the Statehouse hearing.
“URI has a leading role to play as the state’s flagship research university,” Parlange said at the hearing, speaking on the university’s programs in areas such as preventative health sciences, nursing and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the hub’s envisioned role of fostering workforce development and making the area attractive to industry partners.
URI also leads a coalition, the Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, that would bring its work with other universities into the state’s biotech sphere, he said.
Lifespan did not make anyone available for an interview, but in a statement, CEO and President John Fernandez expressed enthusiasm for the system, saying Lifespan is “200% in support” of the proposal.
“A strong biomedical and biomanufacturing presence in the state is good for its residents and its economy – we can create potentially life-changing therapies and provide jobs that generate revenue that gets reinvested in the community,” Fernandez said. “Lifespan will continue to support the state’s efforts to make Rhode Island a leading hub for biomedical innovation in the U.S.”
Proponents also believe the proposal will help propel Rhode Island into a prominent force in a saturated New England biotech market.
It’s no secret that Rhode Island is following a regional trend, rather than forging new paths. Boston has long been known as a national and global leader in biotech and the life sciences.
The Rhode Island proposal’s proponents, including Shekarchi, are well aware of bigger regional players in the biotech sphere. But while Shekarchi says Rhode Island won’t realistically match Boston in the life sciences, he’s confident the Ocean State can match and surpass its suburban neighbors in Massachusetts.
Jain shares in this confidence, describing the state’s life sciences community as possessing “established excellence in research and clinical care, interdisciplinary team science, hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsored research, and a focus on biopharma/biotech with areas of excellence in brain science, cancer, aging, immunity, and RNA – all having strong alignment with interest from sector and government funding.
“Couple all of this with a cost of living that is much lower than some other established biotech cities,” he continued, “and that’s a very powerful draw.”
(Clarification: The 21st paragraph was recast to clarify that Lifespan Corp. did not make anyone available for an interview but provided a statement from CEO and President John Fernandez. Clarification made to paraphrased comments by Dr. Audrey Tyrkato.)
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
Why are we wasting taxpayer money to establish a quasi-public corporate body and state agency tasked with overseeing life science and biotech development in Rhode Island when CNE, Lifespan, and Brown (none of which pay property taxes) and URI are perfecting capable of forming their own group to oversee life science and biotech development in Rhode Island without needless and useless government interference (we all know what disaster the I-195 Commission has been) and without wasting taxpayer money?