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Friday, April 10, 2009
Beyond the Bay State
Biotech firms find clusters in northern states
By Marc Songini
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Northern New England — New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont — is well known for its wide-open spaces, laid-back lifestyle, beaches, rivers, lakes, mountains and stress-free commutes.
However, that remoteness from Greater Boston is also the reason why it’s not known as a major biotech mecca. At least not yet. Experts note that there are some major biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms there with a very highly trained work force available. Also, all three states already lay claim to excellent hospitals and colleges, as well as water and sewer lines and the necessary infrastructure to support biotechnology hubs.
Moreover, in some respects, some of the traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and logging, may help to spur biotech development in marine sciences or in biofuels, said experts. In a few select regions in each state, there are small clusters growing already. For instance, Maine has about 150 life sciences companies, said Todd Keiller, a director at the Biotechnology Association of Maine. Most of these in are in southern Maine, and they employ thousands of people, primarily in the Portland area. Portland is also home to the Maine Medical Center, which offers labs, and research tools to potential startups.
A few major companies are established in Maine, including Idexx Laboratories Inc., based in Westbrook, a major veterinary diagnostics company, and Bar Harbor’s Jackson Laboratory, a highly regarded research institution, he said. “There’s been investment in the region,” he said. “But like anything else, it has to be in a good idea in this economy.”
Maine isn’t alone in having large-scale existing high-tech or pharmaceutical manufacturers in place to nurture other startups. For years, Vermont has been host to an IBM Corp. manufacturing facility in Essex Junction, noted Adam Tarr, president and CEO of NEHP Inc., a Williston, Vt., provider of piping solutions and modularization for the semiconductor, solar and life sciences industries. The IBM plant has contributed to creating a base of high-tech and advanced manufacturing know-how in the region, said Tarr.
There is also the University of Vermont and a business incubator, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies Inc., both in Burlington. However, Tarr admitted a lot of the best students from the state’s schools graduate and move to other places. “Our goal is to hold those guys back,” said Tarr.
In New Hampshire, companies such as Lebanon, N.H.-based Adimab Inc., an antibody discovery firm, have been able to take root in the past few years. There is now a biotech cluster growing around Dartmouth College, said Tillman Gerngross, CEO of Adimab. “Dartmouth is becoming a nucleus and starting point for health care-related companies,” he said. Portsmouth, on the coast, is on its way to being a hub, as well, with companies such as Lonza Biologics Inc. located there, he noted.
However, when he first launched Adimab, the Boston-area venture capitalists said: “‘Why New Hampshire? Why can’t you do this here?’ It was a big question mark,” said Gerngross. Since he started, however, he’s been able to raise tens of millions of dollars. In the future, what will be necessary is for the state to hit critical mass with more and more companies starting up there.
Appealing
• Less stressful commute
• Lower living cost
• Access to high quality medical centers and schools
• Highly trained work force
• Three states’ southern borders are within reasonable distance of Boston
• Northern Vermont in proximity to Montreal
• Access to ocean in Maine, New Hampshire
Not so appealing
• Too far from Boston-based VC firms and institutions
• Limited concentration of talent, infrastructure and research facilities
• Lacks the mindshare of Boston-Cambridge hub
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