June 27, 2007
Training, funding will keep biotech booming
By Cory Hopkins
Biopharmaceutical workforce development and more home-grown funding are necessary if the Central Massachusetts biotechnology sector is to continue its growth in the next decade, according to local biotech corporate and institutional officials.
"Boston investors are reluctant to invest in biotechnology companies in Massachusetts if they're not in Boston," said Jan-Eric Ahlfors, of Worcester-based Novagenesis OY, a research and development firm specializing in neuro-degenerative disease. "They will look everywhere else, California or the Midwest or no-man's land before they look 50 miles west into Worcester."
Despite the lack of homegrown funding, the biotechnology sector in Worcester and Central Massachusetts is thriving, Ahlfors said. Ahlfors said he is excited to see what could happen in the region if and when real attention and resources are paid to the area.
Ahlfors and others, including 2006 Nobel laureate Craig Mello of the University of Massachuestts, directed their comments about the state of the biotechnology climate in central Massachusetts to Gov. Deval Patrick, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray and a large legislative contingent at a roundtable discussion held this morning at the Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester.
In addition to the lack of local investment, many in the research community also lamented the lack of a comprehensive workforce development program that would arm college graduates and others with the skills they need to immediately contribute to the biotechnology economy.
Elizabeth Higgins, founder and CEO of Worcester-based GlycoSolutions, said she sees a critical need for workers that understand how to work within complex FDA and state regulations to produce drug packages for approval.
Dennis Berkey, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the workforce problem goes beyond recent college graduates and into the everyday economy.
"We're trying to address the problems of an installed labor force," Berkey said. "They need to be re-trained and retained. We need to look at getting off the campus and into the economy."
Mello, awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in discovering RNAi, what he called "the Google of the cell," said more help was needed from the state in the face of federal budget cuts for stem cell and biotechnology research.
"We need you," Mello said to Patrick. "Right when we have this tremendous opportunity, we have this shortfall from Washington."
After hearing about the everyday challenges of the local biotech sector, Patrick stressed the importance of continued collaboration between public and private institutions and promised to try to help bridge the many gaps in funding between research and commercialization of biopharmaceutical and biotechnology products.
"You don't need me to collaborate with each other," Patrick said. "Worcester is a model of a community that sees its stake in each other. We will work to help you with new buildings, more workforce development support and a bridge to the so-called 'death valley' of funding between the proof of concept and commercialization of new products."
"Boston investors are reluctant to invest in biotechnology companies in Massachusetts if they're not in Boston," said Jan-Eric Ahlfors, of Worcester-based Novagenesis OY, a research and development firm specializing in neuro-degenerative disease. "They will look everywhere else, California or the Midwest or no-man's land before they look 50 miles west into Worcester."
Despite the lack of homegrown funding, the biotechnology sector in Worcester and Central Massachusetts is thriving, Ahlfors said. Ahlfors said he is excited to see what could happen in the region if and when real attention and resources are paid to the area.
Ahlfors and others, including 2006 Nobel laureate Craig Mello of the University of Massachuestts, directed their comments about the state of the biotechnology climate in central Massachusetts to Gov. Deval Patrick, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray and a large legislative contingent at a roundtable discussion held this morning at the Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester.
In addition to the lack of local investment, many in the research community also lamented the lack of a comprehensive workforce development program that would arm college graduates and others with the skills they need to immediately contribute to the biotechnology economy.
Elizabeth Higgins, founder and CEO of Worcester-based GlycoSolutions, said she sees a critical need for workers that understand how to work within complex FDA and state regulations to produce drug packages for approval.
Dennis Berkey, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the workforce problem goes beyond recent college graduates and into the everyday economy.
"We're trying to address the problems of an installed labor force," Berkey said. "They need to be re-trained and retained. We need to look at getting off the campus and into the economy."
Mello, awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in discovering RNAi, what he called "the Google of the cell," said more help was needed from the state in the face of federal budget cuts for stem cell and biotechnology research.
"We need you," Mello said to Patrick. "Right when we have this tremendous opportunity, we have this shortfall from Washington."
After hearing about the everyday challenges of the local biotech sector, Patrick stressed the importance of continued collaboration between public and private institutions and promised to try to help bridge the many gaps in funding between research and commercialization of biopharmaceutical and biotechnology products.
"You don't need me to collaborate with each other," Patrick said. "Worcester is a model of a community that sees its stake in each other. We will work to help you with new buildings, more workforce development support and a bridge to the so-called 'death valley' of funding between the proof of concept and commercialization of new products."
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments