Thursday, July 24, 2008

Mass. Life Sciences Center adds board members, awards $6M in grants

By Mass High Tech Staff

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The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the state agency focused on directing investment in the life sciences sector of the commonwealth, reports it has new members on its board of directors and has awarded $6.6 million in grants.

The board appointments and grant awards are the first major actions by the agency since Gov. Deval Patrick signed a $1 billion stimulus bill for life sciences into law June 16.

The agency’s new board members include: Joshua Boger, CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VRTX), of Cambridge; Leslie Kirwan, secretary of administration and finance in the Patrick administration, who is cochairing the Life Sciences Center board; Lydia Villa-Komaroff, CEO of Boston life sciences startup Cytonome Inc.; and Peter Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The newly formed board approved $3.5 million in grants to be awarded to five Massachusetts universities to retain prominent, life sciences faculty as well as 11 research grants for Bay State institutions totaling $3.1 million.