International market analysis firm Datamonitor believes that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's pledge to increase investment in life science research will not only help the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, but will also have a positive impact on the development of the IT industry that caters to the life sciences.
The firm's analysis is based on the Democratic presidential candidate's views on how best to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs in the United States.
Datamonitor based its judgments on information from Science Debate 2008, a 40,000-member group founded in November 2007 that has proposed more than 3,400 questions on the current and future state of America's science programs which it would like the presidential candidates to answer.
Narrowed down to 14 broad questions, both Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, have participated in this survey.
The United States was once a leader in the realm of innovation, but in recent times, the nation has slowly slipped down the rankings. Thirty years ago, the country was in third place among developed nations in the ratio of college students graduating from science and engineering programs; now it sits in 17th place. A decline in government funding for basic research in the physical and life sciences is thought to have discouraged America's youth from entering such fields.
Many U.S. students pursuing higher education don't have a strong background in the sciences, as the focus has shifted away from this area. Obama says he is adamant about bringing change to these trends, as he believes that a vigorous research and development program is dependant on encouraging capable people to enter the science fields and giving them support.
Obama has vowed to guarantee students access to a strong science curriculum at every grade level, supplemented by hands-on, IT-enhanced experiments. In addition, he proposes to increase the funding for basic research in the sciences, provide a greater number of grants for early-career scientists and raise support for high-risk, high-payoff research portfolios at the national science agencies.
Datamonitor says Obama's promise to increase budgets for IT-enabled science education and basic research will greatly impact the research communities and will fast-track innovation and growth in the U.S. information technology sector since Obama recognizes that IT will be a key asset in furthering creativity and discovery in science education and basic research.
Datamonitor analysts say Obama understands the impact that science and innovation can have on advances in IT, and vice versa. He advocates the use of IT tools to enhance existing policies of government agencies, such as those of the Food & Drug Administration.
Obama also encourages investment in healthcare research by the private sector, an area of funding that has declined as drug companies face increasing operational costs. With margins being squeezed, the pharmaceutical industry has become less inclined to fund research efforts that are not supported by the government.
This lack of industry investment has led to downsizing and layoffs and a decrease in new drug products and therapies. However, Datamonitor reports, several life science companies have begun to invest in IT solutions in the hope that they will aid in new research discoveries and developments, which in turn will help IT vendors improve their products to cater to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Datamonitor says that, with Obama's support for biological research, life science companies can once again focus their attention on innovative research areas. These areas are highly dependent on IT tools, and as they develop, so will the IT solutions that enable the research. Thus, the firm concludes that Obama's stance on biological and biomedical research is a "win-win" for both the life science research community as well as the IT sector that caters to the life sciences.
With an Obama administration supporting scientific innovation, organizations are more likely to invest in technology solutions that will advance the healthcare research fields. Datamonitor speculates that IT vendors catering to the life science industry will also have government backing since Obama sees the collaboration between research and IT as a cyclical event. The firm suggests that advancement of one sector will only lead to enhancements in the other, and progression in both will put the United States at the forefront of science, innovation and technology once again.