PROVIDENCE – On the heels of a newly released report looking at creating a more-thriving life sciences and biotechnology sector in the state, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi on Wednesday said he supports a new quasi-public agency to help lead the way.
Shekarchi at a press event marking the release of the report commissioned by the Rhode Island Foundation vowed to “lead the charge” in the General Assembly for the new agency. But he declined to get into specifics regarding potential legislation, cost estimates or the response from Smith Hill colleagues.
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Learn More“This is a monumental thing,” he said, touting not only what he saw as an economic boon but the potential for the state to become a center for cutting-edge research and development, particularly in the medical sphere.
“We owe that to the people of Rhode Island,” he said.
The “Rhode Island Biotech and Life Sciences Plan” lays out a multifaceted approach to a potential state, private and academic sector partnership that could jump-start a biotech ecosystem like the one in Massachusetts, a state that is now home to many of the major pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing companies.
The report, prepared by Damon Cox, who headed up economic development for the Boston Foundation before joining the Boston-based startup accelerator Mass Challenge, recommends $50 million over two years in initial funding to create a quasi-public agency with a $1.5 million annual budget. A portion of this initial expenditure should go toward seed money for new biotech firms. The agency would require a top-level administration, including a president, chief finance officer and business-development head. A $30 million investment fund “would support early-stage companies, scale and attract talent,” according to the report, with expenditure approvals overseen by a board of directors chosen by the R.I. Commerce Corp.
“This entity would strengthen Rhode Island’s life science position, accelerate commercialization, create jobs and drive economic development across the state,” Cox wrote in the report’s executive summary, noting the biotech sector is projected to reach a $1 trillion valuation by 2030. “With over 400 biotech and life sciences companies and organizations currently in Rhode Island, there is a solid foundation to expand upon.”
The report also found the state’s biotech and life sciences industry suffered from a “leadership void,” and recommends that RI Bio, a life sciences trade group serve as the “industry facing organization,” to engage in business development and that their annual operating budget be increased from $350,000 to $2 million.
A previous report released earlier this year by the consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc., led Shekarchi to request that Rhode Island Foundation commission the second report. This document analyzed the broader life sciences economy across dozens of specific regions and found that Rhode Island’s small but emerging life science market could serve as a catalyst for the hub and lead to future investment from venture capital firms.
But the report also found weaknesses, such as the state’s low performing K-12 public school system, insufficient lab and biomanufacturing supply and high building costs that can disincentivize development.
During the Wednesday gathering at Rhode Island Foundation’s headquarters, JLL Executive Director Travis McCready pushed back against the common assumption that public-private partnerships to shore up specific industries were tax-funded giveaways that result in increased housing costs and a shutting out of traditionally underserved communities. He pointed to initiatives in Massachusetts that funds STEM programming in public schools, where one in four students now have access to lab equipment provided by the life sciences industry.
“This is not an elite exercise,” he said.
But in Rhode Island, where political squabbles and competition between universities, public and private sector organizations for dollars can often stymie collaboration, McCready said it is paramount these groups work together toward a common goal.
Bob Coughlin echoed this sentiment. The JLL managing director and former undersecretary of economic development in Massachusetts previously served three terms as a Massachusetts state representative for the 11th district.
“All of the ingredients exist here in Rhode Island,” he said. “But it is not about picking winners and losers. It is about playing to your strengths.”
(Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com)