A giant boost for life, a warning about secrets

Washington state has taken its long-awaited plunge into its ambitious commitment to life-sciences research with the announcement of $4.5 million worth of grants.

Actually, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund got a boost from generous private contributors to make its first grant awards, while waiting for the availability of state money beginning next year. Created by the 2005 Legislature, the fund's money comes from the $350 million awarded to Washington state from the 1998 national settlement between the states and tobacco companies. When Christine Gregoire was attorney general, she was the lead attorney for the landmark lawsuit. As governor, she proposed this bonus money from health-impairing tobacco companies be applied to health-enhancing biomedical research. Even better if it creates the jobs in Washington she expects.

The first batch of awards went to six Washington-based research teams that will tackle aspects of such challenges as breast cancer, surgical care, diabetes and medication management. All are proposing new applications of technology to health care and are structured to create new economic opportunities — key criteria for the fund. The recipients emerged from a pool of 75 applications.

This 10-year commitment helps put Washington state government in the game, although it pales in comparison with California's voter-approved $3 billion investment in stem-cell research.

The first awards were made possible through grants with no strings attached from six private organizations: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Microsoft, Amgen, Safeco and Regence BlueShield.

These awards likely are the start of many good things for Washington state and its flourishing biotechnology industry.

But we remind the fund's board that its next awards will be made with public money. The law establishing the fund created a new exemption to the state Open Records Act, ostensibly to protect applicants' proprietary information. During the application process, the fund released only limited information about the applicants.

Fund officials promise more information will be released after the grant agreements are finalized. We are eager to see how much of the agreements will be disclosable.

Public accountability should go like Velcro with public money. The people deserve to know how — and how well — their money is being spent.