Today, biotech companies from around the world will descend on Boston to show off their wares. The Bio International Convention is a chance for Massachusetts to tout its decisive edge in this lucrative industry. Over the past two years, Greater Boston has received more funding for biotech research and start-up companies than any other region in the country. “Massachusetts is the leading life sciences cluster in the country at this point,” says Bruce Booth of Atlas Venture, an investor in science innovation. While other biotech hubs lost research and development jobs during the financial crisis, jobs here rose from 46,380 in 2008 to 48,647 in 2010, according to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
This success didn’t come about by accident. For years, state and city leaders have worked hard to woo the industry, despite opposition from some lawmakers who felt the government shouldn’t play such an active role. In 2007, Governor Deval Patrick announced a 10-year, $1 billion life sciences initiative to help the state corner the biotech market. The initative gives hefty matching grants to industry-sponsored research and tax credits and sales tax exemptions to life sciences companies. Although the financial crisis has caused both government spending and job growth to be slower than expected, the $300 million of public money invested so far has attracted $938 million in private investment, according to the quasi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The Center says the investments have created 8,750 direct jobs, many of them in construction work on new labs.
Comments
Manufacturing in general and bio-manufacturing in particular are engery intensive processes. Electricity costs in the state are much higher than elsewhere. This is one factor preventing bio-manufacturing from expanding.