Lawmakers Should Fund Life Sciences Discovery

Some may remember the infamous Seattle billboard: “Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights?”

The billboard appeared in April 1971 after Boeing shed 60,000 jobs at its Puget Sound plants. The collapse spurred the state to diversify its economy. Seattle, in particular, has become one of the world’s hubs for software, health care and life sciences research.

One of the key ways to stimulate innovative life sciences research is the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF).

Established in May 2005 to help attract life sciences research to Washington, LSDF seed money came from a portion o...