MassEcon in the News

For Immediate Release:
Contact:

Annie O’Connell, Communications Director, MassEcon
(617) 924-4600 x13
aoconnell@massecon.com

Mass Life Sciences Center Seeks More ‘Kendall SQs’

At MassEcon, Travis McCready Outlines Successes and Goals

WESTBOROUGH, Massachusetts – March 21, 2016 –

Travis McCready, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, said at a meeting of MassEcon on Friday that spreading the wealth of life sciences companies and employment around the state is vital to Massachusetts’ objective of maintaining a leading role as a home for biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and related firms.

McCready said he and the Center work to “debunk the myth that innovation can only take place in Boston and Cambridge.” He spoke on March 18, 2016, at the monthly meeting of MassEcon, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as the state’s private sector partner in promoting Massachusetts for business growth.

McCready emphasized the need to focus on life sciences not just in booming neighborhoods like Kendall Square but also in communities that have potential to develop into great mixed-use neighborhoods and magnets for life sciences, including Lowell and communities in Central Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts and the South Coast.

“Kendall won’t continue to thrive unless these other places nearby are available for locations for other innovative companies to locate here in Massachusetts,” McCready said. And he noted that the distance from Boston to Worcester is the same as the length of Silicon Valley, which has not one but three international airports and is making investments in public transportation.

McCready outlined the goals, successes, and challenges of the Massachusetts Life Science Center, an eight-year-old quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth with a mission of creating jobs in the multifaceted life sciences industry.

McCready said that the Center has contributed grant funding to every one of the vocational technical schools in the Commonwealth.  The funds allow for the purchase or life sciences research equipment, which he said is the biggest need in developing talent.  The Center has also made capital infrastructure investments at colleges and universities throughout the state, for buildings and equipment used to teach science and prepare students for life sciences jobs.  The Center has also funded more than 2,200 internships at hundreds of life sciences companies across Massachusetts.

The Center was created with up to $1 billion in funding for capital projects, tax incentives, and other investments to encourage life sciences growth in Massachusetts. McCready said that he expects the Center will continue beyond its initial 10-year lifespan and that it is assessing expenditures and prioritizing for the future based on what has been successful.

Massachusetts has experienced strong growth in the life sciences sectors over the last decade. Sixteen of the world’s top twenty biopharma companies either have a presence in Massachusetts or have announced plans to establish one. All 10 of the world’s largest medical device companies have operations in the Commonwealth.

While the Center helps to fund startups and entrepreneurs, McCready said that “start-ups need to scale up,” and it is focusing on companies’ continuing development and growth.

“MassEcon truly values the collaborative relationship with Travis and the MLSC in working to promote Massachusetts as a home for life sciences companies,” said Susan Houston, Executive Director of MassEcon.

About MassEcon

MassEcon, founded in 1993, is a non-profit, non-partisan entity that serves as the state’s private sector partner in promoting Massachusetts as the premier choice for business growth.  Its services include the state’s only Site Selection Service, which helps expanding and relocating companies find a home in the Commonwealth; the Research & Information Service, which provides companies with the information they need to evaluate the Commonwealth as a location to grow; and the Massachusetts Ambassadors, a network of civic and corporate leaders who help market Massachusetts as a place to do business. www.massecon-staging.mx9m3ye3-liquidwebsites.com

About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is an investment agency that supports life sciences innovation, research, development and commercialization. The MLSC is charged with implementing a 10-year, $1-billion, state-funded investment initiative. These investments create jobs and support advances that improve health and well-being. The MLSC offers the nation’s most comprehensive set of incentives and collaborative programs targeted to the life sciences ecosystem. These programs propel the growth that has made Massachusetts the global leader in life sciences. The MLSC creates new models for collaboration and partners with organizations, both public and private, around the world to promote innovation in the life sciences. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com .

# # #