Washington state's potential as global leader in medical innovation

THE Pacific Northwest is a hotbed for innovation, and the potential for growth in the near future is enormous. Forward-thinking scientists, entrepreneurs, academics and government leaders are gathering in progressive cities like Seattle, where medical innovation and scientific discovery play an increasingly important role in the economy and our nation's health.

Medical innovation has traditionally been a cornerstone of a flourishing America, especially in Washington state. Besides keeping us healthy, the U.S. health-care industry provides good jobs: approximately 14 million jobs today and an expected 3 million new jobs between 2006 and 2016 — more than any other industry — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

America is still the world leader in medical innovation, but that role cannot be taken for granted. We are losing our edge as other countries are joining the race. Europe is now pulling ahead of the U.S. in production of new chemical entities. Asian countries outpace the U.S. in research and development spending. An increased demand for skilled science and engineering students in Europe, China and India has resulted in a reverse brain-drain, with many of our skilled immigrant workers leaving the U.S. to work abroad.

From Singapore to Sweden, other nations are investing in innovation and making it an economic priority. If the United States wants to compete in the new global economy, we will have to do the same.

Washington state boasts leading biotechnology companies, top medical-research universities, and a community of venture capitalists and government officials who embrace and support the growth of life sciences. The biopharmaceutical industry in Washington employed nearly 20,000 people in 2006, paying $1.6 billion in wages, an average wage of $81,499.

In the last month alone, Seattle pharmaceutical company Trubion announced a private partnership to develop a new treatment for leukemia; researchers at the University of Washington found a new way to identify gene links and candidates for diseases like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia more efficiently; and Seattle biotechnology company Amgen announced its cancer drug Vectibix met treatment goals in a late-stage study focusing on patients with colon cancer. Medical innovation is certainly thriving here.

With policies that support its continued growth, Washington could become a global leader in medical innovation in the near future. On Monday and Tuesday, the Best and Brightest Forum on Medical Innovation and the Governor's Life Sciences Summit — both taking place in Seattle — will initiate important conversations about the local impact and growth potential of medical innovation, and what can be done to preserve and protect this critical element of the region's economy.

In President Obama's words, we must "once again put science at the top" in our budgets and in our legislation. That includes creating incentives to encourage collaborative research across the public and private sectors — not a given in this economy.

At the federal level, policies must also be modernized to increase incentives for investment in research and its application, increase federal budgets for the life sciences, improve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and attract and retain the best and brightest minds from this country and around the world. These changes are imperative to ensuring future advances and breakthroughs in the life science and medicine in America.

The real key to economic recovery is discovery. We must keep the wheels of innovation greased by establishing and maintaining policies that nurture scientific research, medical discovery and its application. Finding cures for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, and creating new and better treatments for chronic diseases, are not only important to our health, but will also help us build a vibrant economy once again.