Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/479389
2014 | Doing Business in Connecticut 71 Jackson Labs' decision to locate in Con- necticut "starts with people," according Michael Hyde, vice president for external affairs and strategic partnerships for the company. Hyde compared Jackson Labs' search for the right location for their new genomic research center to the boat building industry of the company's native Hancock County, Maine. "Boat building is a very specialized skill… If you wanted to start a boat building company, you couldn't find a better place than Hancock County — they have the people capital," he said. "You might be able to find a better distri- bution center but you won't have the people." Similarly, companies like Jackson Labs looking for the specialized skills of the biosci- ence industry are now looking at Connecticut. "Science isn't easy," Hyde said. e best way to make significant breakthroughs is to have "a kind of ecosystem where scientific advances happen." "ere are maybe two to three thousand people worldwide concentrating on this sort of thing," Hyde said, adding that there is a "migration of people coming to Connecticut around these biosciences." e reason for that is clear to Dr. Paul Pescatello, chairman of Connecticut United for Research Excellence's (CURE) Bioscience Growth Council. "Bioscience plays to Connecticut's strengths," he said. "We're not going to com- pete with China to make the cheapest flat screen TV, but could definitely find the cure for Alzheimer's." In order to get there, Connecticut is invest- ing in research at the academic level and contin- ues to invest in education across the board. "Look at the world. Where do clusters of biotech and innovation occur? Near where the research occurs," Pescatello said. In Connecticut, that research is occurring throughout the state, but particularly at Yale University in New Haven and the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Cultivating an ecosystem Baxter predicts that the bioscience industry will continue to get "somewhat smaller," as the larger players enter into more collaborations with smaller companies, limiting the exposure for the former and giving the latter much needed capital. "Talking with folks in other companies, things are stable," he said, noting that there are "a growing number of smaller companies" in Connecticut, particularly in the New Haven area, thanks to the aforementioned research going on at Yale. While education and quality of life are keys to attracting businesses to Connecti- cut, these smaller companies are the key to Alexion has a drug on the market called Soliris, which treats two very rare diseases: paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). ' Connecticut stands in stark contrast to the rest of the world. ' —Michael Hyde, vice president for external affairs, Jackson Labs PHOTO/ALEXION Continued on page 72 >