Opinion The State’s Competitive Edge

WHILE OTHER states have been adding jobs, Massachusetts has experienced a significant net loss of jobs, triggering an exodus of educated young people to other regions. Yet Massachusetts remains a leader in the life sciences, and if business, academic, and political leaders continue to provide inspiration and vision, the state can maintain leadership in this growing economic sector far into the 21st century.

The state’s success is based on assets that are clustered together to make Massachusetts special, including world-class universities and academic medical centers, innovative biomedical companies, astute venture capital firms, and an educated workforce.

But these assets are not necessarily unique, and competitors are convinced that they can replicate these assets.

The competition may be making inroads in that quest. For example, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative recently reported that a number of competitor states have achieved a growing competency in attracting life sciences, often with aggressive state government support.

This fact is especially worth noting: Government investment in the life sciences is increasingly viewed as essential to a state’s future economic development.
Spurred by a number of economic report cards published in 2002, including the Massachusetts Biotech 2010 report, the political leadership picked up the gauntlet and ushered in a new era of government-industry-academic collaboration and cooperation concerning the Massachusetts innovation economy.

The first achievement of this new spirit was passage in 2003 of a groundbreaking economic stimulus initiative. Now, building on the success of Economic Stimulus I, the Legislature has proposed Economic Stimulus II.

This bill is before a conference committee, and there needs to be a rapid resolution of differences and quick passage of the final version, so that the state can maintain its competitive edge in the life sciences.

The most desirable outcome would be a melding of the best features from the House and Senate proposals.

The House provides an additional $10 million in funding for the Emerging Technology Fund, one of the shining successes of Stimulus I. A program that offers emerging tech companies a variety of financing vehicles, the fund our most effective tool in competing with other states has pledged all its initial capital to projects and is need of replenishment.

Stimulus I recognized that academic/industry collaboration is the key to future economic success. Stimulus II would recapitalize two other worthy initiatives created in the original bill: The John Adams Innovation Institute, which provides matching funds to leverage government and industry dollars for cutting-edge research and development, and the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, which promotes the crucial steps of taking academic research into the marketplace.
Senate language features new and visionary initiatives.

A newly created life sciences center would be an independent authority coordinating the multitude of activities and investments state government has approved or proposed to promote life sciences.

Based on successful models in North Carolina and Washington state, the center would focus state resources in a targeted way to propel further the sector that many consider the engine of our future economic growth.

The Senate has also proposed creating a bio-manufacturing network under the aegis of the University of Massachusetts, centered at UMass-Lowell and UMass- Dartmouth.

Leveraging the university’s infrastructure and industry’s expertise, the bio-manufacturing initiative would provide services to small biotech companies on the verge of product breakthrough, preparation in a well-paying field for a new generation of technicians, an impetus for enterprises spinning out of the university setting, and an economic boost for the host communities.

The state’s life sciences leadership stems from the excellence of institutions and the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals. But this leadership position is neither absolute nor guaranteed, facts thankfully recognized by state government leaders.

Passage of the stimulus legislation will allow Massachusetts to maintain its advantageous position in what has become a fierce global competition for life sciences supremacy.