Ohio's three top research universities are hoping Ohio voters will support a multibillion-dollar bond issue in November 2002 to pay for biotech development over the next 10 years.

        Unable to win major funding for biotech in the latest state budget, the three universities — the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University — are proposing a statewide bond issue that, they say, would pump up to $3 billion into biotech research and economic development.

        The proposed bond issue would be a different way of paying for the “Ohio Plan,” crafted by the universities and the Ohio Board of Regents last year to promote biotech research as Ohio's next big wave of economic development. The issue would require legislative approval to be placed on the ballot.

        “Ohio hasn't stepped up to the plate like other states have,” said Dr. Donald Harrison, senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the UC Medical Center.

        Ohio research centers are competing at a national level to attract top scientists and win federal grants, he said, in hopes that their discoveries will improve life for people and boost the state economy.

        Several states, including North Carolina, California, Michigan and Georgia, spend hundreds of millions to give their institutions an edge in the race. But Ohio is spending tens of millions, Dr. Harrison said during a Monday meeting with the Enquirer.

        Biotech research dollars going to UC and Children's Hospital Medical Center, for instance, would focus on cancer, heart and lung disease, early childhood development and “neurobehavioral” science, which would include obesity, addiction and psychiatric studies.

        The Ohio Plan calls for investing $200-$300 million a year for 10 years, which would be used to recruit biotech experts, build labs and finance early level research.

        State lawmakers, however, have been focusing most new spending on K-12 education and making budget cuts in other areas to cope with a weakened economy. This year, lawmakers rejected a $300 million request for the Ohio Plan. The universities struggled to keep about $40 million in funding previously earmarked from the state tobacco settlement fund.

        The universities argue that state money invested in basic research will attract even more federal money, making the research an engine of economic development.

        For example, UC's outside medical research funding — most of which comes from the National Institutes of Health — has grown from $30 million in 1988 to $181 million this year.

        A bigger economic impact would come when expanded research leads to important discoveries, spawning new companies, new jobs and new taxes for state and local governments.

        As a general concept, the Ohio Plan received support from Gov. Bob Taft and from the Ohio Business Roundtable. Expanding biotech development also has some backing from House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford.

        “There's no doubt that biotechnology, and the technology industry as a whole, is vitally important to Ohio. We are trying to develop a plan that will foster that industry in Ohio, but the specific funding mechanisms are still being studied,” said Mr. Householder's spokeswoman Jennifer Detwiler.

        Among the key questions: Is a bond issue the right way to raise funds? Has Ohio has already fallen too far behind in the biotech race? And how will the state be assured that the fruits of its investment — the discoveries and jobs and taxes — actually stay in Ohio?

        “It is good that we are examining ways to improve the economy in Ohio. Something certainly needs to be done,” said Donald Berno, president of the Ohio Public Expenditure Council, a non-partisan agency that tracks state spending.

        “The timing would be perfect. (A November 2002 ballot issue) would help focus the governor's race on economic development issues,” Mr. Berno said. “My question is: Shouldn't we have been doing this five years ago or 10 years ago?”

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