From very humble beginnings, the biotechnology industry in Massachusetts has grown to be one of the most significant regional clusters of any industry in the world. But we’re not done yet—we at MassBio join our colleagues in industry, government and academia in a quest to continue our stellar growth. How can it be done? With a renewed focus on being the best place in the world for innovation, research and development.
Today, Massachusetts has over 500 biotech and pharma companies, 18 million sf of commercial laboratory space and close to 50,000 workers in the field. More than 27,000 of those workers are in biotechnology research and development, the highest number of employees so classified in any state. Massachusetts is at the center of the region with the greatest biologics manufacturing capacity in the world, with 300,000
liters of cell culture manufacturing capacity. Massachusetts-headquartered drug development companies have 900 investigational drugs in the development pipeline and 140 medicines have been created in Massachusetts that now serve a patient population of 160 million in the U.S. alone. Life Sciences products account for 28 percent of all Massachusetts exports, some $7.5 billion in value.
The role of the commercial development community is crucial. After a very brief respite, new laboratory construction is accelerating in Massachusetts. As Shire HGT completes its $400 million campus in Lexington, MA, Alexandria Real Estate Equities will begin construction of a 1.7 million square at Kendall Square in Cambridge and the Fallon Company will continue its constriction of a 1.1 million sf lab and office building
at Boston’s Fan Pier, where Vertex Pharmaceuticals will be housed.
Our challenge going forward is also our great opportunity. For the Massachusetts biopharma industry to compete globally, it must lead. As a destination for companies, Massachusetts doesn’t always win based on cost. It wins new opportunities because it
has incredibly talented people and a broad and deep ecosystem that supports moving
cutting edge science forward. Quite simply, we are leading the next revolution in the
biopharma industry. In order to ensure we are prepared for continued growth, MassBio promotes the BioReadyTM Communities Campaign. Today, there are 68 BioReadyTM rated communities with buildings and land sites available for development as laboratory or manufacturing facilities. Many of these sites are Platinum rated, meaning they are either existing laboratory and manufacturing spaces in move-in condition or land sites that are pre-permitted for the industry, requiring only building permits to proceed with
construction. Through the BioReadyTM campaign, we can identify buildings and land sites across the state, to meet a range of price points.
We are also committed to working with our partners in government to support the $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, legislation enacted in 2008 to help to accelerate growth in the sector with funding for critical infrastructure projects, financing for early stage companies, and tax-based incentives for companies of all sizes. Collaboration is critical to our success. No place in the world has the same “collision factor” that Massachusetts has. In Cambridge’s Kendall Square at lunch, MIT professors
and venture capitalists bump into researchers from companies like sanofi, BiogenIdec, Microsoft, Novartis, and Google. There are 70 biotechnology companies within a 20 minute walk. Beyond this research core, the distances between laboratories and manufacturing plants are measured in minutes, not in hours or days. Worcester, the dynamic “second center” of the industry in Massachusetts, is just an hour from Boston.
Being able to maximize these “collisions” is important for any innovative cluster and a fundamental one in helping us to lead. The Milken Institute’s Technology and Science Index ranks Massachusetts first in the
nation. It is a place we intend to remain. But, with growing global competition in what has been a distinctly American industry, we will not rest on our laurels. In the global marketplace, we must compete by leading the way. The Massachusetts model is one based on collaboration between industry, non-profit research, and government in areas including workforce development, technology transfer, business financing, infrastructure, and site assembly. There are people waiting for cures. There is no time to lose.
Robert K. Coughlin is president & CEO of MassBio.
