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Flash Slideshow: Mass High Tech All-Stars Thought Leadership Roundtable
Susan Windham-Bannister was picked last year out of a list of 200 candidates to head the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the agency given the authority over the $1 billion in funds for boosting life sciences in Massachusetts. Born in St. Louis, Windham-Bannister got her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wellesley College, and her Ph.D. from Brandeis University’s Florence Heller School for Advanced Studies in Public Policy. Named a Mass High Tech All-Star last November, she talked this week to staff writer Marc Songini about the agency’s direction and funding.
Will the Obama stimulus bill send more money to Massachusetts for life sciences?
I think everyone is still trying to get a handle on what is going to be really available, specific to life sciences. We are working with a number of other agencies and organizations to see exactly what those targeted dollars are for life sciences. They include the Massachusetts Biotech Council, and the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Certainly, we know there will be an increase in National Institutes of Health money. There will be more money for stem cell research both from the lifting of the federal funding ban and from the increased (NIH) budget. We’ve always been competitive, receiving more NIH money per capita than any other state. Now we have the UMass Medical stem cell bank and registry. Those, together with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the (Massachusetts General Hospital) Center for Regenerative Medicine, position it to compete for those dollars.
Is there a chance that your funding (cut $10 million last year because of economic hardship) might actually increase now?
We are very hopeful that it will be restored, and I’ll tell you why I think it’s important that it be restored. We’ve invested $42.5 million in public tax dollars. We have been able to attract $352 million in private and federal investment. We’ve turned every tax dollar we’ve spent, and gotten a 900 percent return on investment. Our projects have a committed 950 jobs for the long term at above average salary. Life sciences employs broadly, in technical areas, in law, finance, and in skilled manufacturing. We think this is a great opportunity to use dollars to drive economic development at an accelerated pace.
Some have raised the issue that neither the state nor the federal government have the apparatus to target and spend the money to pick the technology winners and losers. Your response?
Our response is that we have been very, very rigorous at the MLSC. We received our first round of applications for the Accelerator program (loans for early-stage companies). We will be investigating young companies and their new technologies. We just closed application acceptance at the beginning of March with 88 applications. It’s a very rigorous process, we are looking at not just the quality of the science, but the business — we’re assessing the business. Our scientific advisors include some of the top venture capitalists in the state. Our scientists are leaders in the state for science and technology. We feel comfortable we’ve got a good process to assess emerging technology.
What sorts of companies are applying?
An excellent and widely diverse group of people in diagnostics, delivery, pharmaceuticals and bio-manufacturing and tools. It’s very broad, and we’re very pleased by that. We got this great response in under two months since we posted the solicitation for the Accelerator program.
Other states are competing against Massachusetts, such as North Carolina, for biotechnology. Do we have an edge here?
A couple of things set the Massachusetts initiative apart. We have a more comprehensive and more forward-looking approach. The tools this (Massachusetts life sciences) legislation gives us include tax incentives, loans, grants, and work force development. We’re making investments in companies. If you look at North Carolina, it’s focused on bio-manufacturing — we’re focused on that as well, but not to the exclusion of other important issues. California is interested in stem cell research and has been implementing this through its academic network.
Any lessons learned in your recent California trip? Any potential companies we might lure away to Massachusetts?
We learned that our approach to implementing our life sciences initiative is highly respected. We met both with companies in California and venture capital firms that specialize in life sciences. One company, we’ll hold off on the name, is actively in the process of planning a visit to come here and convene a roundtable looking to locate a part of its business here. It would like to meet some experts in Massachusetts to get ideas to help it conceptualize how it can develop a presence here.
Some claim that America’s biotech sector is going to decline globally. Is there anything to do about that?
In addition to the Accelerator program, we’re helping young companies and keeping them in Massachusetts. We have the tax incentive program to create favorable tax incentives. That’s often important for companies deciding to stay or go elsewhere. We’re addressing workforce issues, an area where we’re getting a lot of offshore competition. We launched an internship challenge program. The MLSC will match stipends to juniors and seniors in college as a way to get practical experience. This will address the issue of getting the next generation of workers to come into life sciences. We also launched a second round of funding for new investigators. This direct investment in young scientists keeps their research going and keeps them competitive for NIH dollars. In May, we’re closing a round of application for tax incentives.
The local unions protested recently in Billerica and Framingham over tax breaks and infrastructure grants. Should state money to private companies have strings attached related to a company’s workforce practices?
Let me start by saying we at the MLSC respect the issues and concerns of the building trades. We’re very aware and paying attention — in our application process we’re making sure we are aligned with the administration’s policies concerning fair labor practices around prevailing wage. The awards we have made to date — such as for the Genzyme project — this money went to the town of Framingham. It was to help one of our cities and towns that could benefit from a private investment of Genzyme to build manufacturing facilities. The investment will create 300 (long-term) jobs, but also produce many union building-trade jobs.
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