Budget shortfalls are cutting into Washington state's planned biotech fund, according to Xconomy. The 10-year, $350 million Life Science Discovery fund--money from a settlement with tobacco companies--was part of Gov. Christine Gregoire's economic development plan. It was supposed to dole out $65 million for promising new medical advances over the next two years.
But a $9 billion budget deficit has left the state with few choices. The Senate's Ways and Means wants to cut the $65 billion to $38 million, according Lee Huntsman, executive director of the Life Sciences Discovery Fund. The Washington House Appropriations committee, meanwhile, wants to use $60 million of the fund's budget for other purposes, leaving just $5 million for biotechnology investment. The two sides are meeting to decide how much of the Fund to use for budget deficits.
"The Senate's budget is a pretty severe cut. It's well below what we expected to receive, but it's still a significant appropriation," Huntsman told Xconomy. But the House's plan would be the real game-changer. "It isn't clear to me what you can do with that [$5 million]. On the face of it, you can't be in the grant-making business at that level." Governor Gregoire, a major supporter of the biotech industry in Washington, has yet to weigh in on the issue.
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