Editorial: Massachusetts biotech after Finneran
Wanted: President, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. Must be science-literate, finance-fluent, and not afraid to negotiate with large corporations. Political connections are a plus.
That’s what we had when Tom Finneran held the post. He resigned under pressure Jan. 9, after pleading guilty to an obstruction of justice charge in connection with his role in legislative redistricting when he served as Speaker of the House. As flawed a leader as this made him in the eyes of many, he will be hard to replace.
During Finneran’s two-year reign at the 500 plus member MBC, the state’s biotechnology industry has attracted several big companies that in previous years shunned the Bay State over concerns about its business and tax climates. The Bristol-Myers Squibb plant that’s coming to Devens is one shining example from our region. In Boston and Cambridge, nationally known companies such as Novartis and Pfizer have staked out hundreds of thousands of square feet of office and lab space and employ thousands of highly-skilled and highly paid professionals.
They’re not alone. Companies such as Boston Scientific Corp., Cytyc Corp., Genzyme Corp. and Charles River Laboratories have also expanded their existing footprints in the state. Smaller companies have sprang up to service the larger ones, or simply take advantage of the skilled labor pool the bigger companies have fostered here. Technology transfer from the University of Massachusetts Medical School has fostered a cluster of young companies. There’s a lot at stake for the state’s biotech and life-sciences industry in selecting new leadership.
An interim president will reportedly head the MBC for the next 6 months while a search committee looks for a permanent replacement for Finneran. But you can bet that the feds and Beacon Hill won’t stand still while this changing of the guard happens.
The Democrats’ return to power, both nationally and in the state, will come with new demands on drugmakers to adjust prices. In December, the MBC delivered a policy paper to Governor Deval Patrick, asking him to reject price controls and cheaper drug imports – at a time when the state is mandating affordable health insurance for all residents.
The MBC wants the governor to appoint a fulltime science and technology advisor, build a $10 million life sciences center, increase collaboration between the industry and public higher education, and support the streamlined permitting legislation passed into law last year. State lawmakers –partly on Finneran’s advice – are forming a biotechnology caucus focusing on industry-friendly legislation. All these are advocacy planks in a policy platform, but the MBC will still need a strong leader at the helm.
Finneran didn’t come from a science background, but he applied a simple rule to get the knowledge he needed. "Ask somebody smarter than you," he told an audience at WPI last February. "When you find yourself in a room where a dynamic is going on, and the other side has more knowledge than you, don’t hesitate to try to get some of it from them," he said.
Our state is full of life science experts. The kind of leader they need may again turn out not be one of their own, but someone who can see the industry’s wants and needs, and what it brings to the table from the outside. The next MBC president will need to have the skill and savvy to navigate the political waters to keep this important group of companies bullish and growing in Massachusetts.
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