PHOTO | Courtesy of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives' space on Briden Street in Worcester.
July 25, 2024
Worcester incubator provides roadmap for establishing Central Mass. as a global biomanufacturing leader
Photo | Eric Casey
Workers on the roof of the under-construction WuXi Biologics facility in June. This new $300-million facility in Worcester is one of many examples of the growth of the region's biomanufacturing sector in recent years.
Worcester incubator Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives has released a report calling for the state and other stakeholders to work cooperatively to turn Central Massachusetts into a global leader in the manufacturing sector.
The report, released July 16, identifies a number of steps that can be taken to give Central Massachusetts a boost over other New England areas that are looking to draw in biomanufacturing firms, including Providence, Rhode Island and Manchester, New Hampshire.
“Central Massachusetts will complement the existing strengths in Greater Boston, accelerating the momentum for the Commonwealth to lead the emerging biomanufacturing sector in the U.S.,” the report reads. “The Commonwealth will be a destination for companies, talent and expertise, manufacturing facilities, and startups in a new economy that creates circular systems for minimizing waste and enabling efficient biomanufacturing.”
The report identities four main tactics for encouraging growth in the regional biomanufacturing ecosystem: establishing a regional economic approach between the state and Central Massachusetts leaders, building out regional talent capacity, catalyzing an innovation hub and startup support system, and establishing a transaction toolkit to incentivize larger biomanufacturing operations in the region.
“Our success will retain anchor companies in Central Massachusetts, making the Commonwealth a global biomanufacturing hub. To do this, we will need a concentrated focus, pathways to support home grown startups through research, mentoring, scale-up manufacturing, and venture investment,” the report reads.
Highlighting the growth of Worcester’s biomanufacturing sector, including the construction of the Reactory Biomanufacturing Park on the city’s east side and the expansion of global biopharmaceutical company AbbVie’s presence in Worcester, the report calls for growth opportunities to be expanded outwards to the rest of Central Massachusetts, including places like Fitchburg, Marlborough, and Devens.
In an attempt to highlight this regional approach, the report recommends rebranding the annual Worcester Life Sciences Summit as the Massachusetts Biomanufacturing Summit and creating a regional workforce training center, along with other efforts to expand the pool of potential biomanufacturing employees.
Founded in 1984, MBI is the third largest incubator in Central Massachusetts when measured by number of incubating companies, having incubated 33 companies as of the second quarter of 2024, according to data provided to the WBJ Research Department.
These incubated companies include Leal Therapeutics, a startup headquartered in Worcester that is working on effective treatments for diseases that include schizophrenia and ALS. Leal received $39 million in seed funding in 2022.
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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