LANSING, Mich. (Oct. 8, 2009) – Several of Michigan’s leaders in biotechnology, health and medicine gathered at the state Capitol today to discuss the importance of medical innovation in the region, and to the United States.

 

Richard Gephardt, former Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and chairman of the Council for American Medical Innovation, moderated the “Best and Brightest Forum on Medical Innovation,” highlighting the contributions innovators in the state of Michigan have made to public health and economic security. Panelists suggested that new discoveries in the life sciences and medicine are critical to the state’s economic recovery.

 

The Council for American Medical Innovation, a national coalition of leaders in research, medicine, public health, patient advocacy, academia, business and labor, and MichBio, Michigan’s bioscience trade organization, co-hosted the event.

 

“Medical innovation has an enormous impact on the health and economy of the United States, and is a growing part of the economy in the state of Michigan,” Gephardt said. “When we find ways to support medical innovation, we create jobs, drive investment and improve our health. While America still leads the world in science and technology, other countries are gaining on us at amazing speeds. We need to act now by laying a strong foundation with intelligent policies that will preserve our leadership in medical innovation and allow science and medical discovery to flourish today, tomorrow, and into the future.”

 

Michigan’s research universities – including U-M, Michigan State University and Wayne State University – have joined Michigan’s cluster of bioscience companies in harnessing innovations to help the state grow its struggling economy. The bioscience industry, including private companies and academic institutions, already employs 40,086 people in Michigan, according to a February 2009 University of Michigan study. The spin-off effect creates another 58,721 jobs. Private bioscience industry payrolls in Michigan totaled nearly $2.5 billion in 2007, and university life science research expenditures in fiscal year 2007 were $897 million.

 

Panelists participating in today’s forum included:

 

The panel members discussed specific policy changes that are needed to create a healthy environment for innovation and discovery – including policies that can attract companies and well-paying jobs to Michigan, promote risk-taking in research and development, encourage more students to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, attract the best and brightest researchers, and support basic scientific research and development.

 

“Innovation is the key to building a new future for Michigan,” said Stephen Rapundalo, President and CEO of MichBio, which represents biosciences companies, academic and research institutions, bioscience service providers and related organizations. “Innovators in science and medicine are working to make our state healthy again, providing the high-paying jobs we need to bring Michigan out of recession.”

 

Gephardt emphasized how science education, and the research and discovery that comes out of it, needs to be the backbone of the nation’s overall economic strategy. “To remain competitive, U.S. policies should increase incentives for investment in research, development and its application; increase investment in the life sciences; and ensure an increasingly highly skilled and trained workforce here in the U.S.,” he said.

 

The Council for American Medical Innovation has hosted Best & Brightest Forums on Medical Innovation in Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and plans to continue these high-level discussions in various cities across the country.

 

 

The United States faces serious challenges to maintaining its leadership position in innovation. The Council for American Medical Innovation is bringing together leaders in research, medicine, public health, academia, education, labor, and business, who are working in partnership toward a national policy agenda aimed at preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. American medical innovators create millions of high-paying jobs, and their discoveries are integral in the fight to cure cancer and other illnesses. The Council for American Medical Innovation views leadership in medical innovation as a key part of America's economic recovery, future prosperity and health.

 

For more information on the Council for American Medical Innovation, visit www.americanmedicalinnovation.org. Follow us on Twitter @Med_Innovation.

 

 

MichBio is the biosciences industry trade association and the official Michigan affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, BIO, which represents biotechnology companies across America and in 33 other nations. Formed in 1993 as the Michigan Biosciences Industry Association, MichBio is headquartered in Ann Arbor.

 

 

MichBio promotes cooperation between Michigan’s bioscience-related businesses, forges stronger relationships, develops business-to-business opportunities, and serves as a united industry voice to improve the overall science-friendly environment for attracting and founding new business.

 

MichBio members are bioscience-related companies, research institutions, hospitals, public universities and their technology transfer offices, service providers, and economic development organizations interested in furthering the expansion of the biosciences and business climate in Michigan.

 

For more information, please visit www.michbio.org.

 

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