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Governor Rendell's Jonas Salk Legacy Fund and Prescription for Pennsylvania Proposals Will Improve State's Physical and Economic Health

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 12:01 CDT

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson and Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky today touted two of Governor Edward G. Rendell's innovative proposals to improve the physical and economic health of the commonwealth: the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund and Prescription for Pennsylvania.

During a rally at Penn State University, Yablonsky said that with bipartisan cooperation, the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund will accelerate the rate of medical breakthroughs, cure diseases and attract high paying research jobs to the commonwealth.

"The General Assembly needs to act now in order to capitalize on our existing strengths and position the state for the future," Yablonsky said. "The Jonas Salk Legacy Fund will accelerate the investment in Pennsylvania's state-of-the-art research facilities and go a long way in attracting hundreds of high level researchers, creating more than 13,000 new jobs. More importantly, though, making this investment today will help lead to breakthroughs down the road against many of the diseases that plague us."

This groundbreaking initiative will help draw world-class researchers to Pennsylvania by fueling the expansion of bioscience laboratories, incubators and research parks, and help academic medical centers and research institutions nurture entrepreneurship in the life sciences.

Governor Rendell has renewed his call for the Legislature to adopt the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund to build on the commonwealth's exiting strengths in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices with $500 million in accelerated funding that will spur medical innovation and life-saving treatments. Because all grants must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund will yield $1 billion in new investment in the biosciences -- at no cost to the treasury or taxpayers.

"As one of the state's outstanding research institutions, Penn State will have access to crucial funding -- from early seed capital to the commercialization of vaccines and medical devices -- that will save thousands, if not millions, of lives," Yablonsky said.

Yablonsky also said many of the state's leading academic research institutions have endorsed the Governor's proposal, including Penn State, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson, the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The Jonas Salk Legacy Fund would create two major types of investments for these institutions including:

-- Starter kits that will provide grants to renovate, furnish and equip research facilities, including the acquisition of equipment and advanced instrumentation to assist in attracting highly rated research faculty to the state; and -- Bricks and mortar grant financing to cover projects that will expand, remodel, renovate, alter or construct biomedical research facilities, including in-demand amenities such as wet, dry and special-function laboratories.

Offered as part of the Governor's 2007-08 budget, the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund is an integrated legislative package that will also redirect approximately $13 million of annual tobacco receipts. Half of these funds would support the product commercialization by the state's three life science greenhouses, with the remainder being invested in venture capital funds to support emerging Pennsylvania bio-tech businesses.

As part of his Pennsylvania Cares agenda, Governor Rendell proposed Prescription for Pennsylvania -- a multi-faceted health care reform package that targets ways to improve the quality of health care delivered throughout the commonwealth; helps to contain rising costs for employers and employees; and encourages programs promoting wellness.

"Governor Rendell's dedication to improving the health of all Pennsylvanians is evidenced by this bold, new proposal -- the Prescription for Pennsylvania," Dr. Johnson said. "Under this proposal, we plan to increase access to affordable health care coverage for all Pennsylvanians; improve the quality of care; and bring health care costs under control for employers and employees."

Cover All Pennsylvanians, which is part of the Prescription for Pennsylvania, will give small businesses that currently do not offer insurance and uninsured individuals the chance to buy affordable, basic insurance in the private market that will cover physical and behavioral health care and prescriptions. First-year costs of the Prescription for Pennsylvania will be $324 million, funded in part by a 3 percent fair share assessment levied on the payrolls of businesses that do not offer health care coverage to their employees.

For more information on the Prescription for Pennsylvania, visit http://www.rxforpa.com/, and for more information on the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund visit http://www.newpa.com/.

CONTACT: Kevin Ortiz (DCED) (717) 783-1132 Troy Thompson (Health) (717) 787-1783

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

CONTACT: Kevin Ortiz of Pennsylvania Department of Community and EconomicDevelopment, +1-717-783-1132, or Troy Thompson of Pennsylvania Department ofHealth, +1-717-787-1783

Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/http://www.rxforpa.com/http://www.newpa.com/

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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