Biotechnology group to multiply by dividing

BayBio is taking a cue from biology itself -- evolving to increase its fitness for survival at a time when its future is being shaped at the ballot box as well as the lab. The 16-year-old biotechnology association is creating a new entity that will also bear the BayBio name but that is formed under a portion of the tax code that allows it to lobby public officials and take political positions without restrictions. The original nonprofit organization will be known as the BayBio Institute and have a separate board. It will focus on community service and public education. Matt Gardner will be president of both organizations, but the BayBio Institute will soon name an executive director. BayBio's move comes as it faces an increasing number of political battles. These range from statewide measures about stem-cell research and prescription drug plans, to county and city fights over everything from genetically engineered crops to affordable housing. "This has been bubbling some time as the next step in BayBio's growth," said Fred Dorey, the founder of BayBio and a special counsel in the Life Sciences practice group of the Cooley Godward. The structure adopted by BayBio echoes that of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, which operates as a trade association and maintains a nonprofit that serves as the industry's education and public service organization. A single person is president of both. In part, the change reflects a greater vision of BayBio, which has played a passive role on public policy, allowing state and national organizations, often dominated by large pharmaceutical companies, to set the agenda. BayBio recruited Gardner in 2004 and has since tripled its revenue to $1 million and seen a 50 percent rise in its membership. BayBio is expected to expand its staff and will establish a presence in Sacramento. "For us, it's not just Sacramento. We have to keep our eyes on what's happening in the cities and counties of Northern California," said Gardner. Gardner said the organization's public policy agenda is largely in line with the California Life Science Action Plan, which the Gray Davis adminstration crafted in cooperation with the industry, academic institutions and economic development agencies. This includes working to make tax credits transferable so emerging biotechs in need of cash can sell them, bolstering educational efforts and accelerating transfer of technology from the University of California to industry. "Source":[ http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=12189&start=1&control=206&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1].

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