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Massachusetts has long worked to cultivate its life sciences industry, which includes everything from pharmaceuticals produced with biotechnology tech- niques to implantable medical devices. Today, the state has the second-highest employment in biotech R&D after California – which, of course, is a far more populous state. It's also surpassed only by its big West Coast cousin in patents for medical devices in recent years. Big industry players like Sanofi, Shire, and Biogen have an important presence here. The best Life science companies find employees and part- ners at major Massachusetts hospitals and colleges. They benefit from the fact the state has the highest percentage of people with advanced degrees. And the companies, in turn, stimulate local economies. The average annual wages for both biopharma man- ufacturing and medical technology sectors are well over $100,000. "Depending on your measure – and it doesn't really matter which measure you choose – Massachusetts is ranked either No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 in everything in the life sciences in the United States," said Travis McCready, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a public-pri- vate partnership boosting the industry. McCready said one big advantage for Massachusetts is that, unlike in most other states, its life sciences industry is not exclusively based in one metro area. While Cambridge, and specifically Kendall Square, is famous for its concentration of biotech and other life science companies, there are other clusters around the state. "We've been working at this for over a decade to ensure that all these areas have the ingredients they need to be self-sustaining," McCready said. "They themselves can spin off economic activity and scien- tific activities without having to be connected back in to what's happening at Kendall Square." Setting up in a Worcester cluster Advirna, a biotechnology company with just four employees, is a good example of the value of this geographical diversity. The company makes chemi- cally synthesized short RNA molecules to penetrate cells to target specific genes for research and thera- peutic purposes. Alexey Wolfson, the company's CEO and chief science officer, said that after receiving its first fed- eral small business innovation grant in 2012 it start- ed operations at a biotech incubator in Cambridge. "The availability of the scientific community is important, because you can get any advice or experi- ence you can imagine," Wolfson said. "You can reach people who know different areas that you have no idea about." Once Advirna had used its prime location to find partners and get its technology established, Wolfson It's just the idea of getting people who wouldn't normally talk to each other to be in the same space where titles don't matter." - Jill McCormick, TechSpring I n s u l e t Location: Acton Founded: 2003 Employees: 1200 Products: Omnipod Insulin Management System and the Amgen Neulasta Onpro kit. Product's use: The Omnipod is an insulin infusion pump for type 1 or type 2 insulin requiring diabetes. The Amgen kit uses the same technology to deliver Neulasta, which stimulates the creation of white blood cells. Growing company: 65% of the Insulet employees have been hired since the company broke ground on its current location in 2017. StuffMadeinMA.com • 2 0 1 9 • S T U F F 23 171,477 The number of manufacturing workers in Eastern Massachusetts, the highest level since 2016. $78,770 Average annual salary of a power plant operator in Greater Boston Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Continued on page 24 P H O T O / M I C H A E L PA P E T T I VIDEO LINK SEE PAGE 3