Worcester Business Journal

28 Worcester Business Journal | December 25, 2023 | wbjournal.com e booms and busts of life sciences in 2024 e state's buzziest industry slowed down this year, although some sectors will do better than others next year BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer B ooms and busts have marked the life science industry over the past year, with both expansions and downsizing. e industry is poised to take off in some respects in 2024, while some cuts will be seen. More layoffs to come Life science firms have not been immune to layoffs, including Boston Scientific in Marlborough, Definitive Healthcare in Framingham, UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, and Waters Corp. in Marlborough. Each cited macroeconomic trends as part of the need to right-size operations. Heading into 2024, repeat layoffs at large companies and first rounds at other firms will continue. Workforce pipeline programs will be a priority e life sciences job market is growing faster than the workforce can keep pace; a May report from MassBioEd estimated 6,600 jobs will need to be filled each year, but only 3,000 eligible hires for the roles are part of the employment pipeline. Companies will double down on both recruitment and workforce planning efforts down to the high school level. Bioindustrial manufacturing will take off e bioindustrial manufacturing industry is poised to take off in Central Massachusetts and will utilize existing infrastructure in the life sciences to propel. Should Worcester and the rest of the region get ahead of the curve on the industry, it will be a frontrunner in a cutting-edge area and will have an employment boom akin to the biotechnology industry in the 2010s. Top life sciences news from 2023 FDA signs off on Bristol Myers Squibb's latest Devens biomanufacturing venture Bristol Myers Squibb, a global pharmaceutical com- pany with U.S. headquarters in New York, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for com- mercial cell therapy manufacturing in Devens. e Devens facility is the company's newest cell therapy manufacturing site, according to a June 8 release from Bristol Myers Squibb. e new site will allow expanded production and increase supply of the therapies, according to the release. e facility is 244,000 square feet, according to the press release, and is the company's second expansion of its 89-acre Devens site. "e Devens facility integrates the latest state-of- the-art technology in the industry with top talent in the Boston area that will take us into the next phase of our cell therapy journey," Karin Shanahan, executive vice president, global product development & supply at Bristol Myers Squibb, said in the press release. "We are working diligently to increase our product capacity through new sites like Devens and by implementing innovative manufacturing solutions that help patients in need." Bristol Myers Squibb was one of five life science companies with operations in Central Massachusetts to receive a tax break incentive to build out operations and create jobs. It received an incentive of $1.155 mil- lion to expand the Devens facility, tied to an expected job commitment of 77 jobs. e Devens facility con- tributes approximately 500 jobs to the Massachusetts life science industry, according to the June 8 release. UMass Chan to lay off 36 from Boston vaccine division UMass Chan Medical School is reducing its workforce at its Boston biologics and vaccine manu- facturing division, MassBiologics, with more layoffs potentially coming in the next 90 days. e Worcester medical school will eliminate 36 positions at MassBiologics in February, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification it filed. W Post-doctoral researcher Jisun Lee works in a lab at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester. PHOTO | WBJ FILE Life sciences workers at the Bristol Myers Squibb facility in Devens PHOTO | COURTESY OF BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB

• Cover