Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • May 25, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Manufacturers still down on Connecticut economy Despite increasing their sales and employment levels, more than three out of four Connecticut manufacturers rated the state's economic condi- tions as fair or poor, according to a survey study released last week by the Manufacturing Alliance of Connecticut. Only 22 percent of the more than 200 industry leaders surveyed said Connecticut's economic conditions were good, although that is an increase from the 17 percent who said the same thing in last year's survey. In the survey, 77 percent of respondents said they had sales greater or equal to the previous year, and 51 percent said they had higher employment levels since last year. About one-third took advantage of state incentive hiring programs. The survey was conducted from Feb. 15 to March 13, relying on man- ufacturing and business organizations from across the state, including CONNSTEP, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, the Connecticut Tool- ing & Machining Association, the New Haven Manufacturers' Association, and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. ENERGY & UTILITIES Malloy pledges $1M in electric vehicle incentives Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week announced a $1 million fund to give Con- necticut businesses and residents incentives up to $3,000 to buy or lease an electric or fuel cell vehicle. The amount of the incentive depends on the battery capacity of the vehicle. A Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric, or BMW i3 will fetch $3,000. A Chevrolet Volt and Ford C-Max will fetch $1,500. A Toyota Prius Plug-In will fetch $750. That comes on top of the $2,500-$7,500 federal incentive that drivers of such vehicles receive. The $1 million fund comes from the financial settlement the state received from the 2012 merger of Boston utility NStar with Hartford-based Northeast Utilities, which is now called Eversource Energy. The incentives will be given until the $1 million runs out, Malloy said. At that point, the fund may or may not be replenished. The program comes as Malloy and the legislature struggle to work out a billion-dollar deficit in the upcoming state budget. None of the money from the state budget would go to that program. LEGAL & COURTS Suit against Berlin supplement maker dismissed A judge has dismissed a federal class action lawsuit alleging Berlin-based IA Nutrition Inc. used misleading labels on its nutrition supplements. IA Nutrition Inc. was sued in November in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California. The plaintiff, a San Francisco man who had purchased IA's dietary supplements containing whey protein, alleged that the products' labels stated higher amounts of protein than the products actually contained. The suit alleged that IA was "protein spiking," or adding non-protein materi- als in order to increase the nitrogen content of the products. Nitrogen is used as a tag to measure protein levels in products, but the plaintiff, who said he had the products independently tested, argued it was not an accurate measure. Other companies have been sued for similar practices, according to Forbes. Products mentioned in the IA suit included Mass Peak, Nitro Peak, Whey Pro- tein LMS and Super Quad Protein. In a ruling last week granting IA's motion to dismiss, a judge said IA's calculations of protein content conformed with U.S. Food & Drug Administration regulations. Andrew Esposito, IA's chief operating officer, said in a statement that the company was pleased the suit was dismissed. "As we stated in our response to this lawsuit, all of our Inner Armour product labels meet FDA guidelines and we believe we are in full compliance with fed- eral requirements for both testing and labeling," Esposito said. BIOSCIENCE Achillion inks $225M licensing deal New Haven's Achillion Pharmaceuticals said it has signed a global licensing agreement with a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson to develop and commercial- ize three of its hepatitis C treatments. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. will invest $225 million in Achillion and will receive 18.4 million new shares, worth $12.25 each. In exchange, Janssen will get a worldwide license to develop and commer- cialize products containing Achillion's hepatitis treatments, assuming they are approved by regulators. The agreement includes regulatory and sales milestone payments for Achillion. HEALTH CARE Three more health conditions eligible for medical marijuana The list of health conditions eligible for Connecticut's medical marijuana pro- gram is expanding to 17, the Department of Consumer Protection said. Following an April 22 decision by the medical marijuana program's board of physicians, DCP will draft regulations to add Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Fabry disease and ulcerative colitis to the roster of eligible conditions. Earlier this year, DCP said it would add sickle cell disease, severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and a type of post-surgical recurring back pain to the list. Besides a vote by doctors, the process for adding conditions includes a public hearing and comment period, review by the state's attorney general, and a final vote from the legislature's Regulation Review Committee. Connecticut's medical marijuana dispensaries began selling products in September. ECONOMY & LABOR CBIA: Global slowdown has affected CT exporters An economic slowdown among Connecticut's vital international trade partners has impacted 62 percent of Connecticut exporters, according to a survey by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Just under half of the 140 companies surveyed said they have seen reduced orders for exported goods, while 23 percent reported difficulty in pricing their export products because of exchange-rate volatility. But one-third of companies said the slowdown has not affected them, and 5 percent reported an increase in orders. The survey, sponsored by the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce, was the second of its kind since 2007. It also uncovered an ongoing shift in where Connecticut companies are selling their goods. The most common destination for respondents' exports is Western Europe (of- ficial federal data from 2014 said France was the top destination). In the next three years, only 13 percent of respondents anticipate the majority of their exports to be bound for Canada or Mexico. Today, 26 percent of companies sell the majority of their exports in North America. Northern Asia is expected to become a more common export destination by 2018. CBIA also asked companies for their thoughts on the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a trade agreement that has become controversial for the secrecy surrounding negotiations as well as some details that have been leaked. Nearly 80 percent responded that they believe the TPP would benefit their businesses. Census: Stamford fastest-growing CT community Stamford was the fastest-growing Connecticut municipality between 2013 and 2014, adding 1,590 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That represented growth of 1.3 percent. Hartford, meanwhile, lost 456 people from July 2013 to July 2014. The second-largest population growth was in Stratford, which added 502 people, followed by Darien, Fairfield, and East Lyme. BY THE NUMBERS 333 The number of Connecticut residents who could buy Nissan Leafs and receive a $3,000 state incentive, before funding runs dry. 4 The number of years undocumented students are required to attend a state high school in order to qualify for in-state college tuition — which could be reduced under a proposed bill in the state legislature. 702 The number of Greater Hartford single-family homes sold in April, up from 669 a year ago, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. 18.3% Hartford County's 2012 binge- drinking rate, which is among the lowest in the state. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Amazon.com ramps up for CT hiring ■ Nappier's CIO to retire ■ Three more health conditions eligible for CT medical marijuana ■ UConn's downtown Hartford groundbreaking today ■ Malloy pledges $1M in electric vehicle incentives STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW A Pratt & Whitney employee works on one of the East Hartford-based company's jet engines. P H O T O | U N I T E D T E C H N O L O G I E S C O R P O R A T I O N — P R A T T & W H I T N E Y D I V I S I O N

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