Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | October 30, 2023 | wbjournal.com F A C T B O O K BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer O ver the past decade, Central Mass. has been a key player in building out the life sciences economy statewide, and has solidified its position as a key region for that industry across the country. A smaller, less buzzy industry focused on bioindustrial manufacturing, howev- er, may have the potential to launch Central Mass. to the forefront of related innovation, and bring the region's econ- omy with it. Bioindustrial manufacturing ad- vances well-known and regularly-used products – leather, plastics, concrete, for example – using biology. It's not new to Worcester, with a small num- ber of companies and academic researchers al- ready focused on it, but its potential is still relatively untapped. One example is Worcester-based SpadXTech, which uses cellulose mate- rials to create products including insula- tion, filtration systems, and apparel. e existing infrastructure that supports the life sciences industry could bolster biomanufacturing, said Jon Weaver, president and CEO of Massa- chusetts Biomedical Initiatives. MBI and several other key players in innovation and research in the region are working on a plan to get it there. e life sciences incubator is leading a consortium involving the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and other partners, to bring in federal funding that could accelerate the move. e grant the group has applied for is from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and would declare Worcester a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub as well as providing a to-be-determined amount of funding. Such a designation would signal the region is ready to be a global competitor in the bioindustrial manufacturing in- dustry. Word is expected to come on the grant before the end of the year, Weaver said, but regardless of the decision, the consortium is making plans to move forward with the industry launch. On a macro level, the timing for a new industrial boom may line up perfectly. "We are in a really unique moment as a country," said Ben Linville-Engler, chief investment strategist and program executive at MassTech. e American industrial strategy is poised to create big change and forward momentum, and the consortium wants to be at the forefront of it. "We need to be proactive. We are a leader in biomanufacturing now, but we don't want to be stuck following behind later," said Linville-Engler. e interest in biomanufacturing has been on the increase, he said, with more and more related applications coming into MassTech. Using the solid base that already exists in the life sciences industry can help turn this interest into action, relatively quickly. "is work wasn't early and foreign, it was everywhere," said Weaver. Leveraging the expertise, industrial mechanisms, and commercialization experience among those already in the life sciences industry is a likely ap- proach forward, and is something that both Weaver and Linville-Engler have seen interest in. "We were running into folks that had the expertise in the biopharmaceutical space looking to apply their skills outside of that," he said. While much of the skillset and development pipe- line is similar be- tween the two bio industries, there are differences in how products are commercialized and different potential economic outcomes, said Linville-En- gler. Investment can close those gaps. While biomanufacturing is a new subset for some, for Eric Young, assis- tant professor of chemical engineering at WPI, it has been a passion for well over a decade. "I've always been excited about using biology to solve problems," said Young. Biomanufacturing, from his perspective, can increase sustainability of products. Joining the initiative with MBI was a product of realizing the economic potential of taking what is already known about using biology to produce therapeutics and applying it elsewhere, he said. "We can leverage what Massachusetts is great at, and map it to a broader bio- industrial landscape," said Young. "We LEADING the pack Key players in the Central Mass. life science ecosystem are taking on a new initiative to help launch Worcester to the forefront of bioindustrial manufacturing Eric Young, assistant professor at WPI Jon Weaver, MBI president and CEO

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