The buzz about life sciences

Rick Bohn is a medical technologist at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Hovering over a microscope, Bohn is doing a complete cell count from a patient's blood sample splayed on the slide below. At the same time 10 miles away, Adam Dillingham stands over a trough at the Southeast Missouri State University Farm. A freshman majoring in agriculture business and animal sciences, Dillingham tilts his white bucket, pouring a mix of cotton seed and corn for cattle to eat.

The professional chemist and the student farmer may seem separated by more than mere mileage, but beneath the lab coats and overalls they are working toward a common goal: the improvement and sustenance of human life. State officials believe these, along with other life science industries, can be combined to flesh out the future of Missouri's economy.

A recent report released by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, or MERIC, defines life sciences as life-saving and life-enhancing technologies used to improve the quality of life for people everywhere. That means farmers, doctors and chemists are on the same life sciences float, being paraded before similar out-of-state businesses as one of Missouri's economic strengths in an attempt to bring them to the state. The Department of Economic Development calculates that the life science industry accounts for 13.5 percent -- $23 billion -- of Missouri's economy.

Southeast Missouri State University, itself involved in environmental research, is trying to get its share of bond sale revenue specifically intended to fund development of life science-related programs. Those proposed bond sales -- championed by state Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder -- range from $190 million to $290 million, most of which would go to the promotion of life sciences.

Also in the news, Gov. Bob Holden and director of the Department of Economic Development, Kelvin Simmons, have recently visited Cape Girardeau to push life sciences. They've done so knowing that according to their definition, Cape Girardeau County is among the state's leaders in that industry.

In another MERIC report, the Department of Economic Development listed Cape Girardeau as the county with the fifth highest life science employment behind only Jackson, St. Louis, Greene, and Boone counties. The report calculated Cape Girardeau County had 5,022 jobs in the life sciences industry at the end of the second quarter of 2003. That number is centered on employment at Cape Girardeau's two hospitals and Southeast Missouri State University.

From an industry standpoint, the Department of Economic Development's definition of life sciences combines three of Missouri's top exports to other states: food and kindred products, health services, and chemicals and allied products. In addition to production and services, this definition also combines different types of scientific research behind the same banner. Marty Romitti, MERIC director and author of the report, said that was the main reason for the new terminology.

"We wanted a term that would encompass everything that Missouri is doing," Romitti said. "But specifically, we wanted to combine two of Missouri's strengths: human health with plant science."

Geographically, Romitti said, the goal was to combine Missouri's Interstate 70 bookends and their specialties: Kansas City's disease research -- the Stowers Institute with its focus on cancer and the Mid-America Heart Institute's cardiovascular disease emphasis -- with St. Louis' plant sciences research at Washington University, Danforth Plant Sciences Center and the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

"We basically wanted to brand the state as one of the country's life sciences centers," Romitti said. "The term life sciences has a broader application than other words that were being used, like biotechnology. Now the term 'life sciences' has become more used and accepted."

Big Money

This life sciences isn't the fourth period, post-lunch general biology class you slept through in eighth grade. This is big business. In fact, the governor and the Missouri Department of Economic Development are banking on it. The life science bond sale proposals are just the beginning of the money that the government is proposing to pump into this industry.

In recent weeks, Holden and Simmons have come to Cape Girardeau throwing around their buzz word while pushing Holden's Jobs Now program. The program would eliminate certain tax credit programs and free up $12 million to $15 million to be used to underwrite up to $200 million in bonds. A portion of that money would go to the development of the life sciences industry in which Simmons and Holden boast Missouri is an emerging nationwide leader.

Furthermore, Jobs Now advocates the establishment of a Life Science Research District program. This would divide the state into districts, each centered on one of Missouri's four-year public colleges or universities. Taxes would then be collected in each district and put into the particular college or university for use on life science-related infrastructure and support programs.

Holden also proposed the Missouri Advantage Repayment Incentive Option, which would provide up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for students graduating with a math or science degree and going to work for a Missouri life science-related company.

Cape County's role

Although the term was coined to combine disease and plant-science research, Southeast Missouri State University Research Foundation CEO Dennis Roedemeier insists there's a third major brand of research that can be found in the fields of rural Missouri.

"Environmental science and research is a third side to the life science industry, and I think it's a comfortable fit for Southeast Missouri," Roedemeier said. "Say the people in Kansas City find a protein that can help treat cancer. The people in St. Louis then develop a plant that produces that protein. They still need a place to conduct a field test."

Roedemeier thinks that place can be the farms of Cape Girardeau County, specifically the university farm. Furthermore, he said, the new awareness about agri-terrorism and bioterrorism makes the environmental research conducted at Southeast Missouri State University and other universities that much more important.

Romitti said the state's university system is the key driver in the life sciences industry. Students can learn from the practical application of the lab work, simultaneously helping to introduce that research into the marketplace and becoming part of an educated work force.

Although neither Southeast Missouri Hospital nor St. Francis Medical Center has major medical research laboratories, Romitti said the work these hospitals do is key because, like the university, they are applying the research done in other state labs.

Holden, Simmons and the Department of Economic Development are trying to market Missouri as a life sciences leader nationwide in order to attract other businesses in the industry. To do so, they're willing to pump tax money into elements they say are already in place.

"Missouri has the assets," Romitti said. "But those assets won't grow unless you're continuously investing in them."

Roedemeier agrees that the strengths are there. He insists they've been there all along in both agriculture and research and development.

"We're acting like this is new ground," Roedemeier said. "Look at history. Life sciences has been part of our history all along."

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137