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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Lopez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/13/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Center for Isotopes in Medicine

SB 882

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$3,526.1

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 550

Relates to House Bill 132 and Senate Bill 34

Relates to LFC recommendation for the General Appropriation Act for FY08 of $1.5 million for

the Technology Research Collaborative

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

University of New Mexico (UNM)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 882 appropriates $3,526.1 thousand from the general fund for expenditures in fiscal

year 2008 to 2011 to the board of regents at the University of New Mexico to create the center

for isotopes in medicine.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $3,526.1 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the

general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year

2011 shall revert to the general fund.

Senate Bill 882 – Page

2

HPC discusses the center is currently receiving funds from the federal government, including

Department of Energy, Defense and Health and Human Services; State of New Mexico;

University of New Mexico; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and pharmaceutical

industry contacts. UNM notes the United States Department of Energy provided grant funding

for education and training.

HED notes this proposal was submitted for consideration, but was not included in the HED

budget request for higher education.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

There is a longstanding partnership between the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of

Pharmacy (COP) Radiopharmacy Program, the UNM Cancer Research and Treatment Center

(CRTC) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). On March 8, 2005, the Executive co-

signed an agreement to formally establish the first medical isotopes center in the United States as

a partnership between UNM and LANL.

According to HED, this branch of nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic

information about the functioning of specific organs or to treat disease. The use of

radiopharmaceuticals in diagnosis is growing at over 10 percent per year.

Unique medically useful radioisotopes will soon be available from the LANL Isotope Production

Facility (IPF). HPC notes making drugs with these isotopes is difficult because of rapid decay;

in some cases, in a couple of days. UNM notes LANL is limited in its ability to develop

medically useful formulations and products because it has large-scale production facilities which

cannot develop dosage forms used in medical laboratories and clinics.

The center plans to develop the products and markets for these radioisotopes, specifically to

develop radiochemical procedures using novel isotopes and formations, focusing initially on

cancer detection and therapy with the UNM CRTC, to test these novel radiopharmaceuticals in

appropriate cell culture and animals models leading to development of new drugs. UNM

College of Pharmacy is an established world leader in the training and certification of scientists

qualified to formulate and develop novel radiopharmaceuticals, as well as to test them in animal

models and advance them to clinic trails. The center plans to hire an internationally renowned

clinical imaging scientist for this project.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 132 would appropriate $12 million for the Technology Research

Collaborative (TRC).

The TRC was established in state statute in 2005 pursuant to Senate Bill 169. There are 10

member institutions throughout the state to encourage collaboration between research

universities and national laboratories. The TRC mission is to collaborate in the acceleration of

new technology business formations and expansions that will benefit applied research programs.

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT) is currently serving as fiscal agent

for TRC.

Senate Bill 882 – Page

3

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Higher Education formula funding in January 2003

recommended incentive funds for higher education, including research incentive funding. The

2003 legislature established in state statute all incentive funds requested by the task force.

Appropriations to these funds have been slow, and in the case of the Technology Enhancement

Fund, no funds have been appropriated specifically to the fund.

In the case of research, rather than funding the Technology Enhancement Fund, the Legislature

provided direct funding for TRC. State appropriations are as follows:

o

2005 session: $1.1 million, nonrecurring

o

2006 session: $2.0 million, nonrecurring

The initial four funding grants for the 2005 appropriations were based on the following award

criteria: Strategic value, commercial feasibility, economic potential, collaboration, management

and matching resource requirement. Total TRC grant awards from 2005 appropriations totaled

$996.8 thousand, which included $348.0 thousand to the University of New Mexico Health

Sciences Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory for radiopharmaceutical isotopes for

medical diagnostic applications.

The next round of TRC grant awards will be announced approximately February 15, 2007.

The LFC recommendation for higher education for FY08 includes $1.5 million in recurring

funding for the TRC in place of the technology enhancement fund, to advance the concepts

envisioned by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Higher Education.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

To what extent are federal funds available for this purpose. What is the outlook for this

funding source.

2.

To what extent are indirect cost share funds available for this purpose.

3.

How is the grant funding provided from the 2005 appropriation to the Technology

Research Collaborative being utilized.

4.

Will this project receive funding from the next round of Technology Research

Collaborative grants.

AW/csd