DOVER — The Delaware Bioscience Association plans to leverage recent wins in attracting companies and its manpower with a new legislative agenda to support new and expanding businesses while emphasizing the need to train the workforce.
The association’s comprehensive policy agenda focuses on continued investment in innovative businesses, the STEM workforce, enhancing state economic development efforts and expanding patient access to innovative treatments. The road map, which offers several suggestions to economic development officials and lawmakers, was created from feedback from the 160 members and other stakeholders that represent 11,000 STEM jobs in the state.
Michael Fleming, the president and CEO of the Delaware Bioscience Association, said the policy agenda is a culmination of the years of conversations with his constituency since he joined the organization in 2020.
Under his tenure, the Delaware Bioscience Association has worked with the University of Delaware to hire two additional staff members to support early-stage companies scale up and existing companies build capacities
“We’ve learned an awful lot and we’ve had the opportunity to learn from employers about their needs and work closely with a wide range of stakeholders in education and government,” he told the Delaware Business Times. “We’ve identified a series of opportunities and we feel the time is right to execute on it to help really drive the development of the life science talent pipeline.”
With new legislators in the General Assembly as well as a new governor, Fleming also said it was a good time to start advocating for these issues. Gov. Matt Meyer has said in his inauguration speech that he wants Delaware to be on the cutting edge of innovation, be it in technology or new ideas addressing issues in the First State.
The Delaware Bioscience Association’s agenda advocates protecting the federal research and development tax credit; introducing matching grant funds for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs; expanding on partnerships with research hubs; reinstating an angel investor tax credit.
Most notably in the capital investment side, the Delaware Bioscience Association calls for revamping the EDGE Grant program. That program, which is backed by the state, has awarded $5.9 million to 90 small businesses since 2019.
Many early-stage bioscience and technology companies have received EDGE funding in the past. Traditionally, start-up biotech companies need the most capital in the front-end of development and often don’t turn a profit until there is a product ready to launch.
The Delaware Bioscience Association advocates that the state should turn the EDGE program into a tiered system in which companies are awarded more funding the closer they are ready to commercial readiness.
While Meyer is still crafting his first budget, he has already faced challenges such as potential federal funding cuts as well his promise to invest more in Delaware’s schools. Fleming said that the document serves as a strategic look at the budget and offers recommendations on how Delaware can re-prioritize certain programs to fuel innovation.
“We do believe there’s an opportunity to do that without necessarily having to add more spending. We do recognize there’s a natural time for this, but the EDGE program has already had some road testing and we know how it works,” he said.
He also added that other states like Pennsylvania and Maryland have made life sciences a priority, and some governors have proven it with their budget proposals. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro budget set aside $500 million exclusively for life science companies.
When it comes to the next generation of workers, the Delaware Bioscience Association believes that Delaware can work to align workforce development skills across vo-tech, high school and adult education. Other areas include creating a STEM pathway as well as creating employer incentives.
One key strategy would be to work closer with the Delaware Workforce Development Board, an organization that works to bring together industry, educators and public officials to prepare workers for future opportunities. That may include working with the Science and Technology Advisory Council to better identify skill gaps in the STEM fields.
“It’s No. 1 on the list because of its importance,” Delaware Bioscience Association Associate Director Katie Lakofsky said. She focuses on workforce development matters at the organization.
“We’re a small state and we do a lot of work on different initiatives that we have, but we need to make sure we continue to bring stakeholders together and continue to drive a specific strategy forward,” she said. “If all ships move in the same direction, you’re much more productive.”
