University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic tout partnership, then promptly get scolded by legislators
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — It was a bit awkward, to put it mildly.
Just as top officials with the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics announced a major initiative to combat diabetes, something that will require lots of money, a few lawmakers promptly chided the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic for cutting money the state had given the partnership.
“I’m deeply disappointed,” said Rep. Kim Norton, a member of the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. “You’re making it very tough for us to get you funding. How can we get you money if you go along with the cuts?”
On the surface, the criticism stole some cheer from an event meant to promote the achievements of the university and Mayo’s seven-year-old research collaboration. But it also shows what happens when ambitious, well-meaning stabs at high-tech innovation run smack into unpleasant economic reality.
Founded in 2003, the Partnership was touted as “an economic development initiative that leverages the scientific base of the state’s two strongest health research leaders, Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota, to benefit all of Minnesota … [to create] a stronger economy — attracting new industry, creating quality jobs, bringing revenue from out of state, expanding the tax base, increasing the flow of federal research dollars into Minnesota and further enhancing the state as a destination for health care.”
The state provided the Partnership with millions of dollars, including support for a $25 million, three-story genomics research facility at a Mayo building in Rochester. For that kind of money, politicians expect to see immediate results. Yet the Partnership’s research projects — treatments for heart disease, pancreatic cancer, transplant rejection — take considerable time.
“The time lines are fairly long,” said Robert Rizza, Mayo’s executive dean of research. “The ultimate return on the Partnership’s investments is still out in the future.”
Nevertheless, the university and Mayo, which combine for about $1 billion in federal research money a year, need to demonstrate progress. So on the sixth floor Club Room of the university’s new football stadium Tuesday morning, Rizza trotted out three groups of researchers to update lawmakers on their projects.
Dr. Stephen Russell and Dr. Robert Kratzke are genetically modifying the measles virus to treat mesothelioma, a deadly lung disease. The Partnership formed Nisco, a start-up to commercialize their research. Human clinical trials begin in a few months.
Using bioinformatics, Dr. George Klee and Dr. Donald Connelly are trying to predict aggressive prostate cancer by identifying protein patterns in blood and tissue. The Partnership recently reached a research and development agreement with Genome Diagnostics Inc.
Sounds good. But long-term economic development doesn’t always mix well with billion-dollar budget deficits. Facing deep state cuts in 2008, the university cut nearly 40 percent from the Partnership’s annual $8 million budget. In response, Rep. Norton pushed a bill that required the school to consult with Mayo on any Partnership cuts.
Last year, the university cut $300,000 from the Partnership, this time with Mayo’s blessing, angering lawmakers who had fought to protect the money.
“We’re fighting for you,” Rep. Andy Welti told Rizzo and university medical school dean Frank Cerra. “You have to keep fighting for us.”
Cerra said the university has to make tough choices and set priorities. That’s true. However, the Partnership is also asking Minnesota for big bucks to fund a new diabetes initiative. Details are vague but the Partnership wants to pool the state’s resources into establishing Minnesota as the premiere hub for diabetes care.
The Partnership is already working with Exsulin Corp. to identify disease biomarkers. The Burnsville-based company and Mayo recently started a human clinical trial on a Type 2 diabetes drug. The university’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine is developing ways to grow insulin-producing cells.
“I think we have the ability to make Minnesota the place to go if you have diabetes,” Cerra said.
Cerra envisions three parts to the initiative: conducting research, helping local patients to better comply with treatment and finding ways to collaborate with companies to commercialize technologies. The Partnership is establishing an independent oversight committee chaired by Nobel laureate Dr. Peter Agre.
All of this will require “a substantial sum of money,” probably millions of dollars, Norton said.
But if the university and Mayo continue to pare the Partnership’s budget, supporters like Norton might not be in such a giving mood.
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Minnesota Partnership, Diabetes, and Exsulin Corporation
Exsulin’s Phase II clinical trial at Mayo Clinic is the first and only site in the U.S. targeted at regeneration of insulin-producing islets in patients with established Type 1 Diabetes; McGill University Hospital in Montreal will be the only site in Canada and begins to enroll patients next week.
The Minnesota Partnership grant will support collaboration between investigators at Mayo Clinic, the Univ of MN, McGill and Exsulin Corporation and is expected to advance research on biomarkers for islet regeneration. Exsulin agrees with Dr. Cerra that “MN can be a premiere hub for diabetes” and we hope to continue working closely with the region’s diabetes experts and build our presence as a Minnesota based company. As an emerging biotech company, Exsulin relies on collaboration and partners that will attract investors. During these very tough times for fund raising, Exsulin has held strong and made progress in meeting critical milestones toward commercialization with the support of Mayo Clinic, the Univ of MN, and McGill University in Montreal.
Diabetes is a global epidemic — so there is a huge opportunity to make a difference both locally and globally. Due to such a high unmet clinical need, Exsulin is focused first on Type 1 Diabetes, but plans to conduct research in Type 2 Diabetes.
At the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco last week, it was highlighted that the number of diabetes-focused companies had more than doubled from prior year. Exsulin Corporation is in Phase II which means we can see the “end zone” for regulatory approval and commercialization.
by Lisa Jansa on Jan 20, 2010 at 6:01 pm
[...] cells in the pancreas, destroying the body’s ability to produce insulin. There is no cure, though Mayo recently announced a major initiative to collaborate with Minnesota companies to eventually fin… Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, McGill [...]
by McGill University and Exsulin Corp. begin clinical trial of diabetes drug : MedCity News on Feb 16, 2010 at 10:47 pm