Jon Weaver is an instrumental figure in the world of biotech as leader of Massachusetts’ longest-running biotech incubator. MBI is home to 54 early-stage companies, which bring new job opportunities and growth to the Central Massachusetts region.
Over the past two years, MBI doubled its capacity to support new startups with an expansion at 17 Briden St. in Worcester, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in Waltham awarded MBI with a $3-million grant in March for another expansion. Over the past 22 years, MBI companies have raised $982 million in publicly available financing events with MBI’s current companies representing $216 million of that total, demonstrating the rapid upward momentum that this industry is undergoing throughout the Worcester area.
Weaver plays a major role in biotech beyond startups as well, working with Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester to develop a 10-week training program for English-as-a-second language students, so they could fill the need for entry-level biomanufacturing technicians at Worcester pharmaceutical researcher Abbvie.
What sets the Central Mass. business community apart from the rest of the world? Efficiency & collaboration. Worcester is an incredibly efficient place to do business, and the community supports each other to get things done.
Tour de force: You’d never know it, but I bike the entire Cape Cod Rail Trail a couple times each summer.
