Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 7, 2016 | Worcester Business Journal 7 B R I E F S California pharma eyeing WBDC biomanufacturing site The city of Worcester's Economic Development Coordinating Council is in talks with a California company to make it the first resident of a biomanu- facturing site on the former site of the Worcester State Hospital. Kevin O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, said on Oct. 31 the council is in talks with LakePharma Inc. of Belmont, Calif., to build a 50,000-square-foot research and manu- facturing facility on the 44 acres of state land currently being redeveloped by the Worcester Business Development Corp. LakePharma acquired Worcester- based Blue Sky BioServices in March, and is looking to expand its presence on the East Coast, O'Sullivan said. Former company officials plead not guilty of $19M MassHealth scheme The former owner and three manag- ers of Westminster-based Rite Way LLC have all plead not guilty in Worcester court on charges relating to an alleged $19-million MassHealth scheme. Michael Davini, Gary Carbonello, Dwayne Pelkey and Lynn Maguire all plead not guilty in Worcester Superior Court on Oct. 31, according to the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, to charges relat- ing to an alleged scheme involving false claims billed to the state's Medicaid pro- gram (MassHealth). The AG's office alleges between April 2011 and September 2015, the company fraudulently and repeatedly billed MassHealth for transportation services that were never provided. Sunovion buys Parkinson's firm for $635M Marlborough drugmaker Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has purchased a compa- ny developing a Parkinson's disease treat- ment for approximately $635 million. The acquisition of Toronto-based Cynapsus Therapeutics complements Sunovion's existing portfolio and expands its base of treatments for cen- tral nervous system disorders, according to Sunovion. Sunovion plans to submit a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of its fis- cal year 2017. The drug would be used during off episodes associated with Parkinson's disease that impair the ability to move and maintain normal activities. These episodes can last between 30 and 120 minutes and approximately 40 percent of those with Parkinson's dis- ease experience them, according to Sunovion. Harvard Bioscience sells German subsidiary Holliston life sciences manufacturer Harvard Bioscience has sold its Germany liquid handling product maker for $1.7 million. The company did not provide any other details on the disposition of AHN Biotechnologie GnbH, other than the subsidiary had $2.5 million in revenue for 2015. The announcement was made in Harvard Bioscience's third quarter financial release, where it announced a loss $1.6 million – or 5 cents per share – for the quarter. Expert anticipates 2017 home sale slowdown Home sales in Massachusetts stepped up 2.8 percent in September, and the 5,588 single-family homes sold last month represented the most active September in more than a decade, according to The Warren Group. The organization reported that home sales are up 12.7 percent year-to-date with 45,648 homes sold through September. Year-to-date prices are up 1.4 percent, to $347,330. The median sale price of a single-family home in September was $340,000. September was also the fifth consecutive month with at least 5,000 homes sold. Worcester County also saw strong single-family home sales with an 8.2 percent year-over-year climb for September to 816 sales. Middlesex County saw a 2.5 percent drop in sales to 1,035 for September. MWCC named top school for veterans Mount Wachusett Community College was recognized as a two-year college that offers military veterans quality education that lead to high sala- ries within six years of graduation. The Gardner college was ranked 16th on OnlineCollegePlan.com's list of the top 20 two-year colleges for veterans for its high retention and graduation rates for military veterans, as well as its over- all quality of education. The rankings specifically called out Mount Wachusett's Veteran Student Success Center, which provides support and guidance to veterans throughout their academic careers, as a valuable resource for military and veteran students. At the Veteran Student Success Center, stu- dents can get help with enrollment, reg- istration, financial aid, tutoring and mentoring, and other services. Continued from Page 5 W R E A L D E A L Real Deal highlights recent commercial property transactions in Central Massachusetts. Commercial real estate firms that want to submit information on transactions can send it to editorial@wbjournal.com. Source: NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs — Compiled by Sam Bonacci, Worcester Business Journal digital editor ADDRESS: South Worcester Industrial Park, Worcester. 65 Armory St., 17 Southgate St. and 26 Southgate St. AREA: 217,800 square feet of undeveloped land SALE PRICE: $350,000 SELLER: The city of Worcester BUYER: Chacharone Properties Chacharone Properties will be constructing an approximately 50,000-square-foot building for the park's first tenant, Table Talk Pies. The other two properties will be turned into manufacturing facilities for which there is not yet a tenant. Brazil testing jumps Psy- chemedics profits 240% Thanks to growth in the Brazilian market, employment drug testing com- pany Psychemedics reported a 240-per- cent increase in net income over the same period last year. The Acton company posted $2.7 mil- lion in profits for the third quarter of 2016, up from $796,000 over the same period the year before. This growth was driven by the company's presence in Brazil, where Psychemedics products are now being used to test Brazilian drivers for drug abuse. Readers split on electronic tolling impact The Massachusetts Department of Transportation switched over to electronic toll- ing in the state over the last weekend in October. The new technology enables driv- ers to travel at speed onto roads like the Massachusetts Turnpike and through toll gantries, which will either directly charge a driver's E-ZPass account or send a bill to the owner of the vehicle. When asked, WBJ readers were split on whether the changes will result in significant changes for their businesses. F L A S H P O L L With all electronic tolling now in place on Massachusetts roads, how do you think it will impact your business? Avoiding toll booths will save us time and fuel inefficiencies. 43% It is an unnecessary expensive upgrade when the old system worked fine. 8% "Tolls on the Mass Pike should have been eliminated and revenue replaced with a higher gas tax. The tolls are an inefficient revenue source and unfair to a select few traveling on one road." COMMENTS: "A toll booth is expensive and inefficient. If you are not moving forward with technology, then you are moving backwards." I don't think this will have a significant impact on my business. 38% "Change can be a positive. Time will tell what the impact will be. But one question I still have, 'Wasn't this toll only to be a temporary situation to recover capital expenses?' With this change, doesn't seem they are going away ever. What happened?" 11% I am worried about the gantries' ability to charge the correct toll.

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