Tacoma Biotech's New Product

Tacoma biotech firm Revalesio is highlighted in The (Tacoma) News Tribune for its new products promising a revolutionary breakthrough in the treatment of several illnesses.

In addition to the potential for the firm, the potential for Tacoma is also explored in the article here.

WA Names Tech Sector Leads

Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender recently named Maura Little  and Will Saunders  to the sector lead team in the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness.  All told, the three target industries they will focus on represent more than $35 billion in payroll for residents of Washington State: Information and Communication Technology and Life Sciences.

“Our sector-based economic development strategy is a reflection of the fact that we face intense international and interstate competition for good jobs. We have to be constantly vigilant about identifying opportunities and strategies for cultivating employers in Washington,” said Bonlender.  “We can’t rely on luck for the next Boeing, Microsoft or Amazon to develop here.”

Little joined the Department of Commerce as the Life Sciences and Global Health sector lead. She has deep background in the life sciences field, including liaison work for then-Congressman Jay Inslee with industry leaders and helping to draft and pass related legislation. After that, Little was Washington State Director of Government Relations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network working on healthcare and other life-science issues at a state level.

Saunders brings more than a decade of experience in the information and communications technology field to his position of sector lead for the industry.  Most recently, Saunders has been the director of the Washington State Broadband Office since 2010 and has worked with app developers, educators, public and private providers and economic development agencies across the state.
Sector-based economic development heads the list of Commerce’s five core strategies for job creation, Bonlender said.

Little and Saunders join Kristine Reeves (Military and Defense), Alex Pietsch (Aerospace) and Steve Sewell (Maritime) to represent the State of Washington in their respective industry sectors.  They are tasked with identifying and pursuing new economic development strategies that keep Washington State in the forefront of these key industries, and advance the Governor’s goal of targeted company recruitment, retention and expansion.
 
The Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness supports the Governor’s Working Washington Jobs Agenda, which recognizes that these sectors are critical to our future prosperity --  if these industries are doing well, our economy will be doing well.

National TeleHealth & Tech Center Est. at JBLM

The Department of the Army announced today the planned activation of the National Center for Telehealth and Technology at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

This stationing action represents an increase of eight military and 67 civilian authorizations and is expected to be completed in April 2010.

The mission of the National Center for Telehealth and Technology is to foster, develop, research, and deploy technology solutions for psychological health and traumatic brain injury and deliver relevant, evidence-based applications for our warriors, veterans and their families.

This force structure action complies with the recommendations of the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors (Dole/Shalala Report) and the assistant secretary of defense (health affairs) memorandum, Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Point of contact for this notification is Lt. Col. Lee M. Packnett, 703-614-2487, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary of the Army.

BioScience Business Roundtable Update

BioScience Business Roundtable

Life Sciences Economic Impact

The Washington Research Council has published an economic impact study of Washington's life sciences industry. To read the full report, click on the link preceding or log onto the Research Council’s website and look under Recent Publications.

BioTech Gaining Coordination for Advocacy

Early Days, but look for an upcoming event focused on the biotech industry in the Puget Sound region.

But, mark your calendars for a half-day event with two expert panel sessions addressing how government and business can work together to create a positive climate that will maximize the contributions of the bioscience industries on a state and federal level. The experts will also address the importance of innovation, the regulatory landscape and other issues that can impact the industry.

December 2, 2009, 1 – 5 pm
Seattle, venue to be set
no cost to attendees

This program is being developed by a unified voice of leaders representing the biotechnology, life sciences, and biomedical research industries —collectively known as the bioscience community.

Their mission is to promote public policies that on a local, state, and federal level safeguard and sustain America’s place as the world leader in bioscience. Their three tenets are to promote access, prevention and encourage innovation by building bridges of understanding between government leaders, the business community and academia on key issues facing Washington’s and the United States' dynamic bioscience community.

Sponsoring this program in coordination with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) are:

• the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)
• the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

and local organizations like:

• the Association of Washington Business (AWB)
• the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA)
• the University of Washington (UW)
• US Chamber of Commerce
• Pacific Technology Alliance
• Puget Sound Regional Council
• East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition
• NW Association of Biomedical Research
• Technology Alliance
• Cancer Society
• Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber

Fighting Crime with MFI

Tacoma's own Sagem Morpho, an industry leader with its multiple biometric technologies, will present at tomorrow's Good Morning Tacoma.

Sagem's specialized facial recognition application, called the Morpho Investigate (MFI), made national news coverage when the Pierce County Sheriff's department identified and apprehended a criminal from a photo taken at an automatic teller (ATM) machine. The MFI was also used to break up a local identity theft ring that had been stealing AMT cards and using them to withdraw money from the victims' bank accounts.

The breakfast will be held at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 1425 East 27th Street, Tacoma 98421. Cost is $20 prepaid today, but $25 for Chamber members who just walk in. Non members of the Chamber pay $35. Register online or with Janice Hutchins or at 253-627-2175.

Resources for Local Enterprises: Life Sciences

Pierce County has a small but growing cadre of enterprises devoted to different aspects of life sciences; the most visible enterprise at the current time is Urban Waters. Like other emerging businesses throughout this state and beyond, local firms are in a constant scramble for new ways to raise capital and to market their services and products.

The Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) assists businesses in profitably accessing the global marketplace. Interested firms can sign up between now and January 31st for a free listing in the Washington State Life Sciences Directory, a publication that will be distributed to potential business partners and buyers through CTED's overseas offices during seminars and trade shows.

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) has just announced two different kinds of grant competitions for 2008: projects and programs. Projects are investigator-initiated scientific studies, relatively limited in scope, with a sharply defined research focus. Programs are strategic research initiatives designed to address problems within a field of study and to position an organization or organizations for future competitiveness and leadership.

More Dollars Need to Flow to Finance Urban Waters Construction

The price tag for Tacoma’s planned Urban Waters project has more than doubled since last spring’s estimates, rising from $18 million to more than $40 million.

The latest plans call for a three-story, 56,000-square-foot facility on the east side of the Thea Foss Waterway--expanded from the two-story, 40,000-square-foot structure previously envisioned. City officials say it will meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standards, the highest level on a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. That means it will be a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly building, complete with a plant-covered roof, natural ventilation, rain garden and underground heat pump--the first of its kind in the country to earn the status.

The new, higher estimate is a total project cost, and it includes construction of state-of-the-art facility. Meeting stricter environmental standards increases the upfront cost, but could yield as much as 30-35 percent annual savings in utility costs. The city is partnering with the nonprofit National Development Council (NDC) to build the lab, a move that is expected to speed up construction and possibly lower the overall cost. NDC formed a separate nonprofit, Tacoma Environmental Services, for the project; for the first 30 years, that nonprofit will own the facility and the City will lease it. After 30 years, it will revert to City ownership.

Tenants will include the City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services Department (about 43,500 square feet), the Puget Sound Partnership, a new state agency charged with cleaning up Puget Sound, (about 7,500 square feet), and the University of Washington Tacoma (about 5,000 square feet for a researcher and staff).

Initial design allots only 35 parking spaces for an expected 140 employees plus visitors, with the slack expected to be made up via public transportation and carpooling. The facility is expected to be finished in April 2009.

Russell Indexes Beef Up Biotech Listings

Forty-six biotechnology research and production firms, including 15 in Washington State, have moved into the broad-market Russell 3000® and/or Russell Microcap® indexes. These stocks replaced other companies that didn't fare as well during a widely positive year on Wall Street.

Most of the deletions from the Russell 3000 dropped into the Russell Microcap, while those leaving the Russell Microcap moved up to the Russell 3000 or disappeared from Russell's U.S. indexes altogether. Final index membership remains in place for one year. The reconstitution process is followed closely by many investors because the Russell indexes currently benchmark $4 trillion in assets and account for an industry-leading 54% of all institutional investment products.

Other industries that gained the most among the 277 additions to Russell's U.S. index universe are computer services (33), banks (32), drugs and pharmaceuticals (21) casualty-property insurance (27) and crude oil producers (20). Similarly, 43 banks currently in the Russell 3000 and Russell Microcap indexes were removed.

Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and headquartered in Tacoma, with principal offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.