$1B set for state life sci; Measure awaits Senate approval.

Byline: John J. Monahan

BOSTON - Cloning to create stem cells that will cure diseases or develop into new organs for transplants is just one facet of the life sciences industry that could get a billion-dollar boost in Massachusetts with passage of a bill expected to soon emerge from the House and then quickly pass the Senate.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said yesterday the bill will be voted on in a matter of days. It was still being worked on yesterday by House leaders who want to expand the tax incentives and grants in the bill for a broader group of high-tech businesses than first proposed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth said she also wants the measure to support related industries such as medical devices. She said the Senate is "prepared and ready" to "move it through the Senate quickly" once it gains House approval.

Mr. Patrick last summer filed the legislation aimed at bridging a funding gap between primary research and commercial development of life sciences products and technology, and at holding onto leading researchers currently working in Massachusetts in order to help life sciences companies expand here.

It would provide a combination of tax breaks, research grants and state investments in new research facilities that altogether would pump $1 billion into life sciences development over 10 years. That includes about $500 million in borrowed state funds, about $250 million in tax breaks for private industries and about $250 million in research and job training grants.

According to Mr. Patrick, after postponing action on the bill last fall, Mr. DiMasi promised to have the House act on the bill by Friday. It was unclear whether the bill would make it to the House floor during a formal session tomorrow.

For Worcester, the legislation represents a major infusion of financing for new genetic research facilities as well as tax breaks, research grants and other incentives to encourage new business and expand existing ones in biotechnology.

The legislation would provide $90 million for a $265 million RNAi and genetic therapy research center that would be built at the University of Massachusetts Medical School campus in Worcester. Research grants and other funding also would help secure future operations for the state stem cell bank being set up by the medical school in Shrewsbury with money from an earlier round of life sciences funding.

Ms. Murray said yesterday the state is on "the right track" trying to expand life sciences research, contending that Massachusetts is now an international leader in the field. The UMass Medical School stem cell bank, which will store, catalog and make available stem cell lines from leading research institutions, she said, "will be the largest collection of stem cell lines in the world."

At a meeting in Boston yesterday announcing the availability of $12 million worth of life sciences research grants as part of the state's life sciences initiative, Mr. DiMasi was equally enthusiastic about the billion-dollar plan to retain expertise and expand research and commercialization of life sciences here.

He said approval of legislation two years ago to allow somatic cell transfer stem cell research, which involves cloning of human embryos, was a major step forward and representative of the first major challenges to him as speaker.

At the time with then-Gov. Mitt Romney opposed to allowing that type of research in the state, Mr. DiMasi said the bill needed a two-thirds majority to overcome a veto.

With Mr. Patrick making support for the life sciences industry a priority, Mr. DiMasi said, "It's such a difference from the past."

"That bill will be coming. That bill will be signed and will be doing a great service to humanity, our community and for our economy to create jobs," he said.

The governor cited two studies that show between three and five jobs are created for every new job in the life sciences industry, adding that the investment is expected to produce tens of thousands of jobs in the state in the coming years. UMass officials have said the RNAi genetic therapy research center in Worcester is expected to create over 700 permanent jobs and over 5,000 construction jobs.

In sharp contrast to the proposed casino legislation that has divided the governor and Mr. DiMasi since last year, it was clear yesterday the life sciences bill is a priority embraced by the governor and the leadership of the House and Senate.

Asked yesterday at the grant announcement event at a Massachusetts General Hospital research center about concerns over delays on the bill, Mr. Patrick answered by asking Mr. DiMasi and Ms. Murray to stand on either side with him, then reaching his arms around both, pulling them together.

"Get a good shot," he said. "This is a preview of what we are going to see in a few days' time when this bill is signed into law."

The bill: It would provide a combination of tax breaks, research grants and state investments in new research facilities that altogether would pump $1 billion into life-sciences development over 10 years.

The bottom line: For Worcester, the legislation represents a major infusion of financing for new genetic research facilities as well as tax breaks, research grants and other incentives to encourage new business and expand existing ones in the biotechnology field.

The quote: `That bill will be signed and will be doing a great service to humanity, our community and for our economy to create jobs.' - House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi