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2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut 37 Health & BioPharma C onnecticut's bioscience sector today pulses with thousands of scientists and executives at dozens of start-up drug devel- opers and maturing biopharmaceutical companies. But it was barely two decades earlier that a state more known for manufacturing and as the world's insurance capital became host to a handful of fledgling bioscience firms — seven, to be exact — that managed, through good science, good timing and generous financial backing from the state, to establish Connecticut as a budding hub of bioscience innovation and entrepreneurism. Achillion, Alexion, CuraGen, Genaissance, Neurogen, Rib-X and Vion. All but Neurogen and Vion still exist in one form or another and in the memories of those who worked there, with Alexion achieving the greatest market success and wealth. Collectively, the seven's science has been used to decipher the human genome in order to devise ef- ficacious treatments for diseases ranging from hepatitis C and kidney disease to psychiatric maladies. "ese companies don't die,'' said Harry Penner, a serial Connecti- cut biotech entrepreneur who once ran Neurogen and co-founded Rib- X, now Melinta erapeutics. "ey, in a sense, became transformed. But so do the people. ey're still at it in other ways.'' History of innovation ose "seven sisters,'' as they are loosely known in peer circles, also collectively have le behind, observers say, an invaluable legacy to the state's bioscience industry. ey were responsible for recruiting and retaining much of the scientific, administrative and investment talent that exists today in Connecticut. eir other enduring contribution, according to current and for- mer bioscience owners, executives, financiers and advisers, is that they elevated the visibility of Connecticut, particularly New Haven, among the ranks of older, more notable bioscience clusters, including Boston- Cambridge, Mass., and San Diego/San Francisco/Palo Alto, Calif. The visibility and continued nurturing of Connecticut's bio- science ecosystem is a key reason e Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine opened in October 2014 adjacent to UConn Health Center in Farmington. at same month, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai debuted its genetic testing lab in Branford. e contributions of the seven to Connecticut continue to echo well aer the departure of drug giants Bayer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, both of which over the years recruited hundreds of scientists Continued on page 42 > PHOTO/STEVE LASCHEVER The Growth of an Industry CT's 'Seven Sisters' helped establish the state's growing biotech ecosystem By Greg Seay Dave Wurzer was among Connecticut's early bioscience pioneers, as CFO for former CuraGen, one of the "7 sister" firms that helped develop the industry in the state. He's now helping the state expand its bioscience ecosystem.