Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 15, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 25 Keep Mass. Life Science Center strong E D I T O R I A L The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. D uring my first several months as president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, I've been on a listening tour around the state, including a lot of time spent in Central Massachusetts. This is in part due to my own affection for the region, but also because Central Massachusetts and the MetroWest region are among the fastest-growing regions in the state for our thriving life science industry. A case in point is Marlborough, which has added 6,000 jobs over the past three years, 2/3rds of those in the life sciences from companies like GE Healthcare, Quest Diagnostics and Boston Scientific. One of the catalysts for this growth has been more than $200 million in investment in the region by the MLSC. These have included: • Strategic investments in innovation infrastructure – including physical infrastructure (for example the Framingham wastewater project that enabled Genzyme to build a $300-million biomanufacturing plant); • Major capital investments in research infrastructure (like our $90-million investment in the Sherman Center for advanced therapeutics at UMass Medical School); • Human capital investments through our Internship Challenge Program, and in our middle schools, high schools, vocational/technical schools, colleges and universities (such as the Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute). Another ingredient in this growth has been targeted, aggressive business development efforts, through collaboration between the MLSC and others looking to grow or expand know that there are multiple regions of the state with the assets and personality to suit their needs. One of the tools that we have available to support further growth in the region is the MLSC's Job Creation Tax Incentive Program. The seventh round of the program is now open, and applications can be submitted online via www.masslifesciences.com by Feb. 25. The MLSC will seek to leverage the life sciences assets in place around the state. To that end, we are actively encouraging applications from companies of all sizes located outside of Greater Boston, inclusive of Central Massachusetts and MetroWest. The MLSC offers tax incentives to encourage the growth of companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing. The primary goal of this tax program is to incentivize life sciences companies of all sizes to create new long-term jobs in Massachusetts. Companies receiving incentives must commit to the creation and retention of jobs. Our Job Creation Tax Incentive Program has encouraged companies to create thousands of new jobs in Massachusetts, and it has played a major role in encouraging many of the global leaders in life sciences, including GE Healthcare, to make significant investments. Through six rounds the center has awards totaling more than $100 million involving companies creating more than 4,500 jobs. An example of a company that has utilized this program effectively is Framingham-based Boston Heart Diagnostics. Boston Heart has received tax incentives from the MLSC totaling nearly $1.7 million based on a commitment to create 116 new jobs. The company has gone on to add 210 jobs, nearly double its commitment. n Travis McCready is president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Tax program offers life science opportunities BY TRAVIS MCCREADY Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T Travis McCready A fter eight years of the Patrick Administration leading the state, it is inevitable that the new sheriff in town will want to make some changes. Sometimes those changes can be dramatic, and other times more subtle and harder to discern. That is why it was very interesting, and possibly revealing, when of a founding member of the Massachusetts Life Science Center resigned from his position citing a lack of communication and support from the Baker-Polito Administration for the state-sponsored $1-billion fund. Clearly, this is a program that has the fingerprints of the Patrick Administration all over it, and only time will tell whether Harvey Lodish, the MLSC scientific advisory board chairman, turns out to be a lone voice of dissent, or if he was venting the frustrations of his board and many others in the industry. The MLSC was created back in 2008 with a $1-billion allocation and the expressed purpose of growing the bioscience industry over the coming 10 years. In resigning, Lodish complained the current administration is cutting funding critical to the organization's mission – especially for building new bioscience infrastructure. In addition, he expressed concern that current to MLSC president and CEO Travis McCready is not as well-versed in bioscience as his long-term predecessor in the position, Susan Windham Bannister. In response to those criticisms, Governor Baker and McCready seem to be saying all the right things about the priority of keeping bioscience growth at the forefront of economic development in the state, but clearly there are significant differences behind the scenes that have spilled out into the public arena. Of the $1 billion originally earmarked for the MLSC, roughly $400 million is left to spend. While state incentives for GE and any plan to reinvest in the commuter rail system disproportionately help Boston and the towns inside of Route 128, the MLSC fund has been used to help build infrastructure projects throughout the state, with a cool $90 million of those earmarked for the Sherman Center at UMass Medical School in Worcester. McCready, to his credit, seems highly aware of the opportunities in Central Massachusetts, given the region has the low-cost space and educated workforce that is especially attractive to growing startups and early- stage companies. You can read McCready's Viewpoint column in this issue (look left) calling for Central Mass. companies to apply for a tax incentive program MLSC is offering. However, how the remaining funds will be distributed, or even if the remaining funding is to be spent, seems to be unresolved. Who can blame a new administration if they have different priorities or feel they have better ways to put those funds to use around the state? Bringing positive change was a large part of the reason Charlie Baker was elected, and why he maintains such high favorability ratings. So while we think the administration deserves some wiggle room to sort out what they feel is the highest best use of those funds, a wholesale reduction or change of the mission of the group seems unwarranted. Since so many state-sponsored programs and the focus of government spending starts in Boston and ripples out to the rest of the state, we need to remind leaders that a lot of that ripple does not make it out of the 128/495 belt. The MLSC has a record of supporting projects statewide, and we'd like to continue to see those incentives being delivered equitably to the state's many regions. n A s the second largest city in New England, the Worcester region clearly has the demographics and population to be a strong town for minor league sports. So when the Worcester Sharks hockey team left for California last year, it was not surprising to see an entrepreneur jump in and seek to replace that void with another team. The recent announcement that the ECHL will open a franchise in Worcester starting in the fall of 2017 is welcome news for hockey fans and the downtown businesses who stand to benefit from pre- and post-game business. In addition, it did not take long for the Worcester Bravehearts, a locally owned and managed operation, to move into the minor league baseball niche with its summer collegiate team when the Worcester Tornadoes collapsed. The keys to the success of any minor-league franchise are many, but the biggest factor is support from the marketplace. After the "new" factor wears off, can the organization build the kind of strong community ties and family entertainment value to sustain and grow the operation? What does support mean in terms of corporate dollars? Hockey team owner Cliff Rucker needs to show $350,000 in corporate sponsorships as part of his ECHL requirements, and certainly he'd like to deliver an even higher number. Corporations are not only important to sponsorship dollars, but their involvement with the team leads to more of their employees attending games – whether it is through corporate outings or customer promotions – and the backing of city government when it comes to items like facility upgrades and favorable parking dealss. While talk of the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Red Sox AAA franchise, looking at Worcester may have subsided some, the team may not be in Rhode Island for the long run, and the opportunity to be a competitive market bidding for that franchise may still be a possibility. Worcester has the potential to be a real minor league sports hub, and it could also be an amatuer sports hub as well. A new hockey facility is being developed in the Canal District, and the 14-acre Wyman Gordon site remains a potential asset whether building a mixed-use stadium or an indoor track facility and fitness facility. Worcester has a lot of assets, and the support for the Bravehearts shows that a well-run sports franchise can build a loyal following of corporate and community support. Building a story, and potentially more facilities, around minor league and amatuer sports in the city holds real potential – but will need advocacy and leadership from the business community to succeed. n Worcester = Hockeytown?

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