Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 JA N UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 2 F O C U S 2 0 2 2 E C O N O M I C O U T L O O K community is really important. Projects that do their homework and listen to local communities about their concerns will do better than projects that don't." Overall, Belle expects a good 2022 with the type of slow-but-steady growth that's been a hallmark of the industry for many years. "One of the reasons the aquaculture sector has done as well as it has — in the face economic downturns or COVID or other challenges — is the tremen- dous mix of species, companies, sizes and production methods," he says. "at diversity has given the sector the ability to grow slowly but surely." B I O T E C H N O L O G Y A big year for Maine bioscience? The new head of JAX thinks so B y W i l l i a m H a l l T he coming year could be a water- shed for Maine's bioscience indus- try and research organizations like the Jackson Laboratory, says its new president and CEO. Lon Cardon, an industry veteran and longtime genetics researcher, took leadership of Bar Harbor-based JAX in November. He succeeded Dr. Edison Liu, the 2021 Mainebiz Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year, who remains at the independent, nonprofit lab as a professor. JAX has been pioneering bioscience since 1929. In 2022, recent research may pay off in practice. "Now is the time to fulfill the original promise of genomics and substantively improve human health," Cardon says. "Our focus for the coming year is to use discoveries and technology to acceler- ate the translation of research into new diagnostics, prognostics and treatments for common and rare diseases." ose clinical areas include Alzheim- er's disease, cancer and more. e lab has also been busy putting science to work in another key area – COVID-19. In 2022, JAX will con- tinue to conduct diagnostic testing and genome sequencing of virus variants, according to Cardon. "Even if testing declines, JAX's ongoing COVID-19 research will con- tinue and expand, providing important answers about the mechanisms of this ever-evolving virus," he says. e work will also catalyze that by other members of the state's biosci- ence community, Cardon believes. Specialties like bioinformatics, data science and machine intelligence could be especially important. Cardon most recently lived and worked in California, but has an appreciation of the close-knit collabo- ration between Maine and its scientific community. "Maine and JAX," he says, "are as intertwined as a double helix." CA N N A B I S In Maine cannabis market, fears of saturation B y J e s s i c a H a l l J ohn Kreis, owner of adult-use canna- bis dispensary Portland Greenhouse, already fears market saturation in the still-nascent industry, as well as compe- tition from the less regulated medical marijuana sector. "I went into it thinking there would be lines up the street. It hasn't been that way," Kreis said. "It's hard to say how the year will be. ere are so many moving parts. It changes from week to week." e adult-use cannabis dispensary on Spring Street opened in the Old Port in September. "A lot of stores have opened in Portland. It's going to be a very satu- rated market," Kreis said. Kreis said he was already worried about market saturation in Portland when the city first proposed rules that would have restricted the market to 20 retail licenses. en, voters passed a referendum that eliminated that cap, as well as a required buffer zone between competitors. Portland Greenhouse now shares a wall with another dispensary, Stage Cannabis. e two stores are trying to work together to market themselves as a cannabis destination in the city. "Bard Coffee is right across the street from Starbucks. ere's a way for more than one store to survive. We're trying to make ourselves the 'cannabis corner' and appeal to a wider swath of people. Our stores have very different vibes and have something for every taste," Kreis said. With products from medical mari- juana dispensaries costing about half as those from recreational use stores, there's price pressure and competition, Kreis said. "is is what we're up against," Kreis said. In 2021, Maine's recreational cannabis industry brought in more than $72 mil- lion, according to data released by the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy. e adult-use market, launched in Maine on Oct. 9, 2020, is still dwarfed by the more mature medical cannabis market, which generated $250 million in sales in 2020. "I spent a fortune to get a store open. I think we'll be one of the stores that survive, we're not getting set up for success. ere will be some store failures," Kreis said. C E O O U T L O O K Inflation met head-on by creative thinking and sacrifice B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n D avid Stone has made his mark as a startup leader. He is founder and CEO of Forager, an app that helps supermarkets and other buyers source locally produced food, may be best known as co-founder and CEO of the software company CashStar, which was sold in 2013 for $175 million. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Lon Cardon, new president and CEO of Jackson Laboratory P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F JA C K S O N L A BO R AT O R Y There's a way for more than one store to survive. We're trying to make ourselves the 'cannabis corner' and appeal to a wider swath of people. Our stores have very different vibes and have something for every taste. — John Kreis Portland Greenhouse John Kreis is the owner of adult-use cannabis dispensary Portland Greenhouse. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F P O R T L A N D G R E E N H O U S E

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