She
visited life sciences companies in Worcester and Hopkinton to focus on her
proposed $1 billion, 10-year reauthorization of the Life Sciences Initiative,
which will position Massachusetts to lengthen its lead as the global leader in
this cutting-edge industry.
“The Mass
Leads Act will strengthen Massachusetts’ global leadership and expand
opportunity in our state now and for a generation to come. One key way we’ll do
this is by reauthorizing the Life Sciences Initiative for another decade,” said
Governor Healey. “
“Mass
Biomedical Initiatives and RoslinCT are excellent examples of what happens when
we invest in the world-class talent and innovation happening right here in
Massachusetts. We want to build on their success and welcome more companies to
move, start and grow here in our state.”
“Our
visits to MBI and RoslinCT proved the transformative power of the Mass Life
Sciences Initiative, particularly through the support that the Mass Life
Sciences Center is able to provide to companies,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim
Driscoll. “We are proud to propose another infusion of resources to enable to
MLSC to continue to do this important work and support our current, incredible
companies while also attracting new businesses and talent to our state.”
“Our state
is the global epicenter for the life sciences industry. With the Mass Leads
Act, we are committed to strengthening our leadership by reauthorizing our Life
Sciences Initiative,” said Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao. “This
initiative supports an ecosystem that enables MBI and RoslinCT to advance
their R&D efforts, bolster their workforce, and generate meaningful
economic output. Our economic development bill will foster an environment that
continuously fuels innovation, attracting new talent and businesses to
Massachusetts.”
“The life
sciences sector serves as a powerful, regional catalyst for economic and
workforce development,” said MLSC Acting Chief Executive Officer and Vice
President of Economic Development and Partnerships Jeanne LeClair. “We are
incredibly proud of the continued growth being experienced in Central
Massachusetts and the MetroWest. Both regions still have a great deal of
untapped potential to further advance as life sciences clusters. Moreover,
these regions serve as a model for other parts of our Commonwealth as we look
to accelerate our efforts to grow out the benefits of the Life Sciences
Initiative.”
The
Governor’s first stop was at MA Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) in Worcester. MBI
is the longest-running life sciences incubator in the state, helping emerging
life sciences companies advance from concept to clinical trials. It is
estimated that since 2000, MBI has assisted over 188 companies that have
created over 1,800 jobs and had over $1.9 billion in economic impact.
MBI has
been supported by the MA Life Sciences Center (MLSC), which enabled the company
to triple the capacity of the incubator’s facility, expand its workforce
programming, and advance its cluster building activities. MBI’s most recent
expansion of its new Pilot Biomanufacturing Centr was supported through $3.5
million in MLSC funding, adding 10 new biomanufacturing labs to support startup
companies in process development and early-stage manufacturing.
The MLSC
has supported several other Worcester institutions in recent years. UMass Chan
Medical School received $2.8 million in 2021 from the MLSC for the purchase of
an advanced Glacios cryo-electron microscope from Thermo Fisher Scientific.
This investment has enabled UMass Chan’s capabilities to meet growing demand
and continue to transform biomedical research in Massachusetts. The UMass
Cryo-EM Core has supported data collection for dozens of companies and an even
greater number of academic labs. Structural biology is the foundation of a
significant portion of biomedical research, opening windows into biology and
structure-based drug design. The Cryo-EM Core at UMass Chan was established in
2015, in part with $5 million in funding from the MLSC.
Additionally,
CERES (Cell Engineering Research Equipment Suite) at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (WPI) is a fee-for-use core lab designed to provide WPI researchers
and regional industry and academic partners access to state-of-the-art
instruments for quantitative analysis of engineered cells. It is located within
the WPI Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center. CERES was made possible
by $877,314 in capital funding from the MLSC in 2020. MLSC funds supported the
purchase of key equipment to create a modular core facility focused on high
throughput cell analytics, providing startups access to resources needed to
bring cell-based products to market. The equipment capabilities were designed
through partnership between WPI and Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI)
given that a major indicator of success for CERES is the growth and maturation
of the biotech discovery ecosystem in central Massachusetts.
Beyond
supporting research and innovation, the MLSC has also provided more than $13
million in workforce development and STEM-focused capital investments to
Worcester colleges and schools.
“Before
other major cities voted to approve zoning for Research and Development,
Worcester knew the potential of the life sciences,” said Worcester Mayor Joseph
M. Petty. “Having Worcester be supported by our state leadership allows us to
further the opportunities that come from our life sciences, and I look forward
to our continued collaboration together.”
“Central
Massachusetts led the nation as the birthplace of the American Industrial
Revolution. Today, we are focused on leading the nation again as the world’s
next global biomanufacturing hub”. said MBI President and CEO Jon Weaver.
"We are grateful for the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s vision and
leadership represented in the Mass Leads bill, which includes the
reauthorization of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The MLSC’s support
is essential to our ability to compete on a global stage and create jobs for
our region."
The
Governor also visited RoslinCT (formerly Lykan Bioscience) in Hopkinton, which
develops and manufactures cell-based therapies. They’ve received nearly $1
million from MLSC for tax incentives around job creation. They also previously
received $390,000 in funding through MLSC’s Massachusetts Transition and Growth
Program (MassTAG), which is a recruitment tool designed to attract
out-of-state, international, and newly formed companies that want to become
part of the Massachusetts life sciences ecosystem. The company was able to
create 26 jobs with this funding. RoslinCT has also utilized MSLC’s internship
challenge program.
When
RoslinCT first engaged with MSLC in 2019, they had only six full time
employees. Today, they have 115 full time employees.
The
MetroWest life sciences cluster is another example of the continued
regionalization of the life sciences in Massachusetts. The MLSC has invested
nearly $71 million in the region through various funding program and
initiatives. This includes capital investments in colleges and universities
located in the MetroWest, such as Framingham State University, and the region’s
vocational technical schools. RoslinCT is one of nearly 30 MetroWest companies
which have benefited from the MLSC’s Tax Incentive program. Nearly $30 million
in tax incentive funding has helped create 1,685 jobs for MetroWest-based life
sciences companies.
“RoslinCT,
a global cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing
organization, applauds the proposal by the Healey administration to
re-authorize the Life Sciences Initiative,” said President & CEO RoslinCT
Patrick Lucy. “The proposed investment of $1 billion over 10 years will enable
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to continue our global leadership in life
sciences to develop cutting edge technologies and therapies offering hope to
individuals around the world impacted by disease. The cell therapy sector is
advancing efforts against the most complex and rare diseases and in some cases
these therapies are potentially curative after a single dose.”
“We are
honored to have Governor Healey and her team in Hopkinton to celebrate the
reauthorization of the Life Science Initiative. The state-wide initiative can
be an investment in our community's thriving biotech hub on South Street and
its anchor companies, such as RoslinCT. The success of this industry in
Hopkinton is made possible by the strength of our relationship with the state
and the private industry, substantiated by partners at MassBio and the
Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce,” said Hopkinton Town Manager Norman Khumalo. This
partnership has led to Hopkinton’s most recent designation as a Platinum
Community, marking Hopkinton's readiness and competitiveness for innovative
biotechnology firms. We look forward to the future of Hopkinton’s Biotech Hub
and the impact the Healey-Driscoll Administration will have on the economic
vitality of our town."”
Last year,
Massachusetts was chosen by the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for
Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the National Institutes of Health, to host
its Investor Catalyst Hub, demonstrating the effectiveness of
the state’s investments in the life sciences.
The
Governor’s proposed long-term commitment will position Massachusetts to win
more investment in the life sciences industry, develop more life-saving cures,
and create more jobs. It will build on the success of prior authorizations
while making adjustments to account for present-day challenges and
opportunities. The initiative has three core parts:
Capital:
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center will embrace a model that encourages
multi-institution, cross-sector collaboration among key industries, such as
biotechnology, manufacturing, medical technology, higher education, and
healthcare. Through this realignment, the state will be better able to pursue
health equity ventures, research and development, and capital eligible
initiatives to support the ecosystem.
Tax
Incentives: The Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program has proven successful in
incentivizing the creation of jobs in the industry. This bill proposes to
increase the statutory cap for life sciences tax incentives to create more
capacity in the future and extends the program to 2033 to demonstrate the
state’s commitment for the next decade. This will further enhance a valuable
business development tool to attract and retain companies in
Massachusetts.
Operating: This new strategy also projects annual appropriations for workforce development programming and other strategic initiatives, including support for early-stage companies. Notably, this component of the strategy incorporates an expansion of Pathmaker, a key component of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s MassTalent Initiative, to scale career training programs for in-demand job opportunities within the industry.
In
addition to competitiveness and innovation, equity will be elevated as a
priority for the Healey-Driscoll Administration under the new initiative,
including creating better workforce pathways into careers in the industry and
improving health outcomes for residents in Massachusetts.
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