Biotechnology in Central Massachusetts is a rapidly growing industry, characterized as much by its big players as its nascent, up-and-coming companies. Together, players old and new stand to define what biotech in and around Worcester will look like for generations to come.
Biotechnology in Central Massachusetts is a rapidly growing industry, characterized as much by its big players as its nascent, up-and-coming companies. Together, players old and new stand to define what biotech in and around Worcester will look like for generations to come.
Major real estate moves
Central Massachusetts was far from without major real estate moves this year, but it’s no secret that just about everything was slowed down during the coronavirus pandemic and its incremental recovery. The pandemic may not be over yet, but businesses who delayed building and purchasing space are going to be eager to get to action in 2022, and with spaces in places like The Reactory in Worcester up for development, it’s reasonable to expect a lot of movement in the biotech real estate space in Central Massachusetts over the coming year.
Research dollars will funnel into region
As Central Massachusetts becomes a hub for biotech and the life sciences, large-dollar donors are taking notice. Look no further than a $175-million donation given to UMass Medical School, now known as the UMass Chan Medical School, from The Morningside Foundation of Hong Kong in September. This comes on top of the annual National Science Foundation grants UMass Chan receives, which are typically the most outside of Greater Boston. But even when the dollar figures aren’t that large, they’re still significant, and they’re being funneled in the science departments at local universities, where professors and their teams are being tasked with developing and advancing biotech and biotech-adjacent technologies.
More college biotech
Biotech is an industry du jour in Massachusetts, but it’s one requiring a hefty workforce, especially at the clip it’s growing. Colleges who don’t already have biotech majors are drawing them up, and schools that already have programs are going to expand in them, through larger curriculum, business partnerships, and faculty hiring. STEM is trendy, and for good reason: the jobs are there, and so are the salaries. Colleges in Central Massachusetts, in large part tasked with fostering the region’s skilled workforce, are going to want to beef up their ability to feed workers into biotech.
