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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 24, 2025 13 being born out of academic labs, and otherwise getting funding and starting in Connecticut." Tim Miller, vice president of busi- ness development and life sciences for AdvanceCT, says he believes the "venture capital focus on Connecticut is stronger than ever." "I'm thinking of organizations like Yale Ventures that put together its pitch fest," Miller said. "I'm thinking of VC groups that I know of that are based in Massachusetts, but they have some local (investors) in New Haven that are just focused on Connecticut deal flow." Why here? That last point raises another question. Why would companies choose New Haven, or Connecticut, when other locations — specifi- cally Cambridge and Boston in Massachusetts, and San Francisco — are better known for supporting bioscience companies? John Houston, chairman, CEO and president of Arvinas Inc., cited a couple of reasons for locating in New Haven. Office and laboratory space in Boston, Cambridge or San Francisco is prohibitively more expensive than in Connecticut, he said, and that cost "comes right off of the money you want to spend on research." "So," Houston added, "you can grow your business quicker here." AdvanceCT's Miller said New Haven also offers a geographic advantage, placing companies close to investors in both New York and Boston. Another selling point, he said, is "that you don't have to look very far in Connecticut to find a room full of people that really care about the life sciences industry." Miller noted that "every BioCT event is sold out with a wait list," and there are events every month that allow people in the industry to connect and collaborate. Other advantages include being close to Yale University and Yale Ventures, which helps faculty convert research into commercial ventures, as well as the University of Connecticut and other colleges in the state. Storeygard noted that Yale annu- ally invests about $700 million in research. 'Uncertainty is a risk' Of course, recent developments at the federal level have created a cloud of uncertainty over the bioscience industry nationwide. On Feb. 7, the NIH announced plans to drastically cut funding for "indirect costs" related to research, reducing what institutions can recover for such costs to a maximum of 15%, well below the more than 60% level some were recovering. That, combined with the confir- mation of noted vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services, has investors spooked. "I'll say this in a nonpartisan way," Shannon said. "So, we talked about the risks inherent in what we do, and people not wanting other risks to enter the equation. The uncertainty is a risk." No matter what happens, he said, the actions of the Trump adminis- tration have "introduced uncertainty in terms of what is going to happen, and it will keep people on the side- lines until that becomes clear — meaning it becomes another reason for people not to invest." *2024 data is as of 3Q | Source: CT Dept. of Labor Bioscience employment in CT TOTAL EMPLOYEES 2001 2013 2007 2019 2004 2016 2010 2022 2002 2014 2008 2020 2005 2017 2011 2023 2003 2015 2009 2021 2006 2018 2012 2024 30K 25K 20K L U MARCH 13, 2025 5:00 - 8:00 pm | Aqua Turf Club COME CELEBRATE WITH US! SCAN HERE companies T ! SUPPORTING SPONSOR: EVENT PARTNERS: MAJOR SPONSORS: