On Jul. 13, 2005, The Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority (LSDF) was established and a total of $350 million in forthcoming tobacco settlement funds was to be used to attract an additional $650 million in private capital.

The $1 billion fund was to be used to help finance groundbreaking R&D. In 2015, the LSDF was defunded by the Washington Legislature. Since 2007, the LSDF had administered 111 grants worth $105 million, supporting more than 3,500 jobs, 40-plus startup companies, and helped attract $510 million in additional funding.