Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • November 23, 2015 www.wbjournal.com FOCUS Health care Central Mass. to benefit from Life Sciences 2.0 The state has been in the midst of a push for expanded life sciences since the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center was founded in 2008 with $1 billion in state funds. The organization has used those funds to expand life sciences infrastruc- ture, boost education and generally encourage businesses to settle in the state. For every $1 the life sciences organiza- tion has expended, $3.2 of private funds have been invested, McCready said. The goal of the agency in this first phase was to establish Massachusetts as a leader in the industry, and the state has risen to that goal – leading the country in per-capita employment in the indus- try. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Massachusetts' biophar- maceutical jobs reached 60,459 in 2014, up from 43,904 in 2005. The Life Sciences Center has been credited with assisting in the growth of the biotech industry in the state, dolling out over nearly $140 million in grants through- out Central Massachusetts. "The Life Sciences Center was a com- mitment from the government. We have added tens of thousands of jobs that have benefitted the commonwealth," said Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, who was lieutenant gover- nor when the center was formed. "Life Sciences and biotech have helped trans- form the Central Massachusetts econo- my." Much of Massachusetts' life sciences growth has centered around Cambridge and Boston with biotech startups and established companies basing their operations focused on research and ear- ly-stage development in the area. Even these organizations in Greater Boston have been used to boost life sciences throughout the state, McCready said. W ith its hybrid of open spaces and an educated workforce, Central Massachusetts is set to reap the rewards as the state's biomanufacturing initiative kicks into its second phase. "I'm really proud that the commonwealth has a hybridized scenario like Worcester," said Travis McCready, who took over as CEO of the semi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in September. "There continues to be density, and you have the institutions necessary in Worcester to support a right-sized R&D outpost, but importantly you also have the training, workforce development and skilled talent as well as real estate to support manufacturing operations that will support different kinds of jobs." BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor Kamal Rashid, the director of WPI's Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center, stands in front of a group receiving training on troubleshooting and root-cause analysis. Investments by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center have helped grow the field in Central Massachusetts, according to Rashid. P H O T O / S A M B O N A C C I

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