Life sciences industry lauds Deval Patrick: $1 billion biotech measure sets Massachusetts apart

The Boston Herald
June 16, 2008

What a difference a year makes.  Last May, Gov. Deval Patrick announced ambitious plans for an economic stimulus package to position Massachusetts as a leader in the life sciences industry.  Today he is expected to make good on that promise, by making that stimulus package a law.

... "This life science bill is a great advertisement for the whole state," said Joshua Boger, founder of Cambridge-based Vertex Pharmaceutical Inc. and chairman of BIO's board of directors.  "It is an advertisement for getting done what you say you will get done."

But there's an element of tension underlying all this life sciences enthusiasm, because there's so much competition for these companies and the high-paying jobs they produce.

... Massachusetts' life sciences sector contributes approximately $8.8 billion annually to the state's economy, according to a just-released report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the New England Healthcare Institute, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

The 2008 Massachusetts Life Sciences Super Cluster report also found that the state's life sciences industry employs 77.247 people.  What's more, the industry's in-state work force grew 8 percent between 2001 and 2006 while the entire Massachusetts work force shrunk by 2.5 percent, the report says.

 And, according to the report, that local activity has sparked more growth.  Massachusetts has a high concentration of academic medical centers, researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical companies.

Link to Full Article: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view/2008_06_16_Life_sciences_industry_lauds_Deval_Patrick:__1_billion_biotech_measure_sets_Massachusetts_apart/srvc=home&position=5