$40 million fund to finance medical breakthroughs

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 2, 2008 at 3:50 p.m.
Updated July 2, 2008 at 3:50 p.m.

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Colorado moved up the ranks in biomedical research today with the announcement of a $40 million fund to finance investigations into cutting-edge medical breakthroughs.

Gov. Bill Ritter said the public-private agreement will “help solidify Colorado’s position as one of the nation’s top places in research and innovation in biosciences.”

The new fund combines money from the Webb-Waring Institute, the University of Colorado and the Boettcher Foundation.

Boettcher’s commitment is $20 million. Its president, Tim Schultz predicted that in the next quarter century the Boettcher Foundation will be as well-known for its medical grants as it is now for its college scholarships.

The Webb-Waring Institute has its own endowment and started the ball moving by committing $14 million to advance medical research.

As part of that deal, Webb-Waring will move out of its longtime headquarters on Colorado Boulevard in Denver, following the CU Health Sciences Center to the new Anschutz campus in Aurora.

The independent Webb-Waring Institute for Cancer, Aging, and Antioxidant Research has great scientists but to maximize its effectiveness it needs to be around a medical center so it can partner with other experts in the field, Schultz said.

CU will contribute $6 million.

Boettcher’s $20 million will come in the form of one to one grants leveraging the other partners’ $20 million, Schultz said.

After building up interest for a year, Boettcher will be ready to analyze the grant applications and begin doling out the money, he said.

The money amounts to about $2 million a year in perpetuity, and if the investments show a decent return, should be able to grow in subsequent years.

It will mark about 13 percent of Boettcher’s yearly donations.

Those eligible for the medical grants could be the CU campuses, Colorado State University, the Children’s Hospital, National Jewish Medical and Research Center and other institutions.

“Before we made this commitment, we asked several scientists if there was a need for this, if a $50,000 or $200,000 grant would make a difference for them,” Schultz said.

“Uniformly, they said, ‘Yes, it makes a bigger difference than you realize.’”

The Webb Waring Institute began in the 1920s after Dr. James J. Waring came from the east coast to Colorado Springs to be treated by renowned tuberculosis specialist Dr. Gerald Webb, who was looking for a TB vaccine.

They later became medical partners and their institute moved to Denver in 1952.

Making Colorado a leader in biomedical research can also be key to the state’s economic growth, Schultz said.

“The industry lacks investment dollars in research” right now, he said.

The money will go to research medical breakthroughs that haven’t even imagined yet, he said.

But it also could fund such research as is going on at the Lions Eye Institute at the Anschutz Center, where scientists are learning how to grow a new cornea from the cells of an old one.

“This grow-your-own, customized medicine is amazing,” he said. “We’re very excited about being part of this.”

[PS]scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2897

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