LANSING – Two bills that supporters hope will make Michigan more attractive to biotechnology companies to conduct Food and Drug Administration approval research were sent unanimously to the full Michigan Senate.
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee reported SB 358 and SB 359 which could allow a new life science investment authority and a newly created life science pipeline system within the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center to invest funds, in exchange for an equity position, in companies developing new drugs and other products needing FDA approval. As part of the process, a company getting the investment would have to go first to Michigan companies and institutions to help conduct the research.
Committee Chair Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) said with these bills he wanted to make Michigan the destination of choice for companies to conduct their FDA approval research by making it less costly for that research to be done.
“We’re one of the top five states in terms of patents generated,” Allen said, but one of the lowest states in terms of seeing those patents go to market.
Under the proposal, Allen said he envisioned the investment authority issuing bonds for up to $50 million. Startup biotech companies, who would get early funding for initial research and development through venture capital firms, he said.
Once a project gets to the next phase of actual genomic and human testing, a company could go to one of the institutes in the Life Sciences Corridor, such as the University of Michigan or the Van Andel Institute, for that agency to conduct the research.
The institute could offer to conduct the research at a reduced price in exchange for an equity stake in the company, Allen said. If the product does come to market and is profitable, then the institute would profit from that stake.
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