A fundamental requirement of strategic planning and implementation in any discipline is that of future vision, mainly because a clear and measurable vision provides leadership and guidance for any and all actions pursued towards reaching an attainable goal. The metrics utilized to describe the vision can then be applied to these activities in an effort to direct a measurable change above and beyond the status quo. In specifically considering the devel­opment of the life sciences community (both industry and aca­demia) in New York State, several of these metrics are also drivers of the end result. As a straight-forward example, investment in academic research infrastructure by New York State will likely attract additional federal research grants and awards, thereby leading to increased discovery and innovation and the opportunity for valuable license agreements and start-up companies. The pre-clinical, clinical and commercial development of these technologies will surely lead to substantial private investments significant market approvals, as well as an increase in corporate revenues and employment.

In total, these metrics allow the various stakeholders with an interest in the life sciences community, such as government, industry, academia and the public, to rally around a shared vision of success. By describing these parameters and the mechanism by which they affect the growth and sustainability of the life sciences community, a comprehensive strategy can then be developed to guide any action meant to be of impact. Keeping such metrics and drivers in mind, the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative (LILSI) has worked to develop a legislative strategy that encourages local and state govern­ment to consider how best to invest in the life sciences community both regionally and statewide.

On a regional basis, LILSI has presented a multi-site proposal to establish pre-clinical development facilities for academic and industrial access in centralized locations throughout Long Island, including Stony Brook University, Farmingdale State University, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Institute for Medical Research, and added most recently, Winthrop University Hospital. Interestingly, Governor Pataki previously proposed a $350M Higher Education Capital

Fund that could be utilized to finance such a program, and LILSI is working with government representatives in Albany to facilitate a direct invest­ment. Moreover, LILSI was already successful in providing additional support for the $10M re-designation of the Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) in Medical Biotechnology at Stony Brook University for 10 years beginning in 2004, as well as the 2004-2005 budget re-appropriation of the statewide Enhanced-Center for Advanced Technology (E-CAT) program that will allow competitive CATs from across the state to compete for an additional $2-$3M investment over 2-3 years.

One of the most exciting statewide programs proposed by LILSI concerns companies that may receive an SBIR/STTR Phase II award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Innovation Match Program to Advance and Commercialize Technology in New York (IMPACT-NY) is meant to enhance the development of early-stage firms that have validated their science and commercialization strategy by specifically obtaining NIH SBIR/STTR Phase II grants. LILSI has recommended that New

York State provide up to $250,000 in matching funds on a competitive basis, limited in use towards equipment purchases, facility improvements, select salary support, and intellectual property protection. In addition, companies receiving government support may be required to remain in New York State for a minimum of 3 consecutive years following investment. Importantly, this proposal was recently acknowledged and modified in the New York State Senate's NexGen Task Force recommendations as part of the Excell-NY legislation.

It is already encouraging that in recent years, New York State has increased its commitment to the life sciences community by offering substantial pledges to the biotechnology and high-technology sectors, particularly though enhanced financial support of the academic research infrastructure that currently expends over $2B annually pursuing basic research. Specifically of benefit to the life sciences community on Long Island, New York State has invested $20M to create the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park on the SUNY Farmingdale campus, secured an additional $20M to launch Phase II of the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park, committed $15.7M to build the Strategically Targeted Academic Research (STAR) Center in Biomolecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics at Stony Brook University, assured $35M to establish a Bioinformatics Research Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and promised $4M to enhance the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit of the North Shore-LIJ Research Institute. These enhancements to the academic research infrastructure are in addition to existing programs meant to foster the development of

the life sciences industry, including the exceedingly successful Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) in Medical Biotechnology (Center for Biotechnology), which co-founded the Long Island High Technology Incubator (LIHTI) located at Stony Brook University, as well as the

financing, facilities, research infra-structure, technology transfer, and government resources and support. These endeavors continue to occur in a highly dynamic and rapidly growing life sciences community on Long Island, most prominently with the 2004 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Tarceva^TM, developed by OSIP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIP). In addition, several significant life sciences firms have expanded on Long Island within the last several years, including ICON Laboratories, Forest Laboratories, Henry Schein, Natures Bounty (NBTY), Interpharm, Eon Labs, and Air Techniques, among others. Moreover, several early-stage firms seem extremely promising and are poised for substantial growth, including Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Helicon Therapeutics, IRx Therapeutics, inGenious Targeting Laboratory (iTL), Vitatex, Juventis, Angion Biomedica, and AcousticScan, along with many others.

Most importantly, the life sciences community at large represents a significant growth opportunity with tremendous potential for scientific discovery and invention, commercial development of which will surely result in momentous improvements in clinical detection, diagnosis and intervention, as well as quality-of-life enhancements that will help people actively pursue longer, healthier and more productive lives. States and regions competing for leading positions in these areas will only emerge as residing technological and economic victors if issues of strategic importance to corporate growth are addressed in an effort to foster the incubation, expansion and sustainable success of the life sciences community - vision and leadership must drive and guide the strategy.