(WisBusiness) WED News Summary — 3 Dec. 2008

From WisBusiness.com …

— The Badger State is poised to boost its reputation as an international leader in personalized medicine, thanks to the recently launched Wisconsin Genomics Initiative, two program officials said at the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association.

Jim Leonhart, executive director of the state’s biotech group, said Tuesday that WGI will advance Wisconsin’s position at the forefront of personalized healthcare research and treatment.

“This has been in the works for two years and is now ready to take off,” he said. “With each of the four institutions involved contributing to the initiative, it will really be a broad statewide effort and move things along to clinical applications to help people and boost the state’s economy.”

David Page, a professor in the departments of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics and Computer Science at UW-Madison, told the conference how algorithms combed from millions of bits of genetic data — combined with environmental and clinical information — could be used to make disease predictions, target treatments and even prevent ailments before they occur.

See more from the conference: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=142713

— With Democrats soon to control the state Assembly, as well as the Senate and governor’s office, the state’s largest business lobby is shifting gears to deal with what it calls the “new political landscape.”

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which has often been at odds with Gov. Jim Doyle, is reaching out to diverse groups — including labor — to develop plans to stimulate the state’s slumping economy.

“We’re facing some interesting economic times here in Wisconsin and nationally,” said WMC Vice President James Buchen in discussing the group’s new “Moving Wisconsin Forward” program.  

“Our board concluded we needed to make a broad effort to figure out what it is to move the state forward so that as we emerge from this recession, we can lead the parade as opposed to being at the end of it,” he said in a new WisBusiness interview.

Buchen said that philosophy grows out of what he called a “shared set of goals” that business has with labor, academic and political leaders.

“We have a unique opportunity to help Wisconsin be more competitive and more successful,” he said. “Regardless of whether you are Democrat or Republican, you want to see people employed in good paying jobs.

“That’s important for a wide variety of reasons, including having enough tax revenue to adequately fund schools and other government programs. We may disagree about the specifics, but I think we’d agree we have common goals.”

Buchen predicted fewer fireworks in Madison with Democrats running the show in both houses and the East Wing.

“There will be less conflict that leads to impasse. … because the Republicans are in the minority,” he said. “They can’t thwart the will of the majority. And I think that there may be less rancor because of that, though there will clearly be disagreement.”

See more from the interview with Buchen soon at http://www.wisbusiness.com

— Steve & Barry’s has officially notified the state about 274 layoffs resulting from the closing of the chain’s Wisconsin stores. The store closings were first announced in November.

And Wausau Homes Inc. is planning to lay off 81 production workers and office personnel at its Rothschild location beginning Jan. 30.

— Later this morning the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership is set to release the results of a study it commissioned to assess the global competitiveness of Wisconsin manufacturers.

Come to http://www.wisbusiness.com after 10:30 a.m. for coverage of the study results.

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