Island Voices
Med school's new mission
By Edwin C. Cadman and Carl-Wilhelm Vogel
Our medical school can lead the biotechnology effort for Hawai'i, as has been done elsewhere in this country.
Examples are San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, New York City and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. All of these biotechnology sites have developed around areas where medical discoveries are being made, mainly at research medical schools and biomedical research institutes. The medical school's new mission, in addition to continuing our outstanding education program, is to become a research-intensive medical school, and through research initiatives to become the focal point of a new bioscience campus/park for Hawai'i.
We envision a public-private partnership. The academic environment is the nurturing place for the biotech industry, and inquiring students, productive faculty and staff provide the environment for new discoveries. Moreover, the medical school, as an educational institution, will have conference rooms, an auditorium and a medical library available to all members of the greater bioscience campus/park and to the community.
The bioscience campus/park would consist of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Pacific Biomedical Research Center and the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i. Additional research buildings, developed by the private sector, would be clustered around the core medical school, and this space would be available for biotech companies to lease.
Under this scenario, total research jobs created would be 1,000 for the private sector, 500 for the medical school and another 250 for the cancer center. The estimated annual economic benefits of this campus would be $75 to $80 million for the medical school/Pacific Biomedical Research Center, $40 million for the cancer center, and an additional $125 million in private-sector research for a total of about $240 to $245 million per year.
The UH Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i is an excellent example of how biomedical research can be successfully conducted in Hawai'i. The center has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the last decade, currently attracting well over $20 million each year in research funds. As the cancer center receives only about $2 million of state support, it converts each state dollar into approximately 10 federal research dollars, making it the most successful research unit at the university. In the current year, annual revenue for the cancer center amounts to $24 million.
For the year beginning July 1, 2001, the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the Pacific Biomedical Research Center have received new grant awards of $60 million, $34 million of which is from the NIH — generally in 3- to 5-year multiyear awards. An additional $5.5 million in indirect costs added to this brings the actual research dollars available to be spent this year to $38.5 million.
President Evan Dobelle's proposals for the UH Health and Wellness complex is for $150 million for the medical school, $80 million for the cancer center, $60 million to renovate the building the medical school will vacate, and $10 million to jump-start the biotechnology park. Of these amounts, he is requesting $150 million from the state, and has pledged to raise the remaining $150 million from private sources.
A 10-acre site in Kaka'ako has been chosen for the medical complex, and preliminary architectural plans have been developed. This site has another 10 to 15 acres immediately adjacent for additional facilities.
We need the private sector to be a part of this complex to develop leasable research space — a component critical to Hawai'i's effort to support a new biotech industry. To encourage this, wonderful state tax incentives have been enacted to encourage private bio- and high-technology development.
Hawai'i should use the medical school and cancer center's research to bring new dollars into the state. We can help diversify the economy and create jobs. We must look beyond the next beautiful Hawaiian horizon and dream. We must believe that we can become great.
There is always a future, but destinies are for those who plan.
Edwin C. Cadman is dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Carl-Wilhelm Vogel is director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i.
