"Competing for biotechs' attention; States, nations chase prospect of high-paying jobs, revenue" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | June 19, 2008
Prospects aren't always fulfilled.
SAN DIEGO - Georgia hosted biotechnology executives aboard an aircraft carrier. Nebraska plied them with Omaha Steaks. And Hawaii offered tropical drinks, island music, and hula lessons.
And there taxpayers all picked up the tab! Ain't elitism great?
Everywhere you look at the world's biggest biotech show here this week, politicians and economic development officials are fighting for the attention of industry executives. At least a dozen governors planned to attend the Biotechnology Industry Organization show. The convention floor is crowded with more than 60 pavilions run by states, nations, and regions, ranging from Oklahoma to Spain.
"They want what we've got," said Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick, who is leading a brigade of four dozen state and local officials at BIO in an attempt to persuade biotech executives to expand in Massachusetts.
The scene at the convention - organizers call it the "Olympics" of the biotech industry - underscores the growing competition that Massachusetts faces to remain a leader in the industry.
No Tibetan protests outside, or.... oh, yeah, gotcha!
Once regarded as an obscure niche, biotech has gradually become big business, prompting economic boosters worldwide to salivate over its high-paying jobs, growth potential, and promise to inject new money into a local economy.
Even though they are less than 1% of the work force, and there are no promises!
"Biotech is one of the hot industries that every economic development board pays attention to," said Glen Giovannetti, who runs Ernst & Young's biotech center in Boston.
Like the dot.coms?
Indeed, Florida estimated it has invested at least a half billion dollars in the life sciences industry in the past few years, mostly to help set up top research institutions, like the Max Planck Institute of Bio-Imaging. Maryland unveiled its $1.1 billion life sciences proposal Monday, hours after Patrick signed Massachusetts $1 billion life sciences plan into law. And Georgia, home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several respected universities, has set aside millions of dollars for loans to life sciences companies and funding for start-ups.
"We intend to put Georgia on the [biotech] map," said Ken Stewart, commissioner of Georgia's Department of Economic Development.
But it is difficult for other states to compete with Cambridge's Kendall Square and San Francisco's Bay Area, especially if they are trying to build an industry from scratch. Both areas have deep roots in the industry. The commercial biotech revolution arguably began in 1976 with the founding of Genentech Inc., a south San Francisco biotech giant. Cambridge-based Biogen (now Biogen Idec Inc.) launched just two years later.
Today, the Bay Area has 77 publicly traded biotech companies, more than any other region, according to a recent study by Ernst & Young. Massachusetts is close behind with 62.
But other areas are gaining ground. San Diego now has 42 publicly traded companies, up 50 percent from just five years ago. In fact, San Diego biotech companies actually raised more venture capital money than those in Massachusetts last year. Venture funding for San Diego companies leaped 135 percent to $966 million from 2002 to 2007, compared to a respectable 66 percent for Silicon Valley, and 47 percent for New England, according to data collected by Thomson Financial, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the National Venture Capital Association.
"San Diego is up and coming," said James Connolly, who leads PricewaterhouseCooper's life sciences practice in Boston. "It may be the fastest growing of the largest biotech clusters."
All three also face competition from abroad, including Ireland, Singapore, and China. Swiss drug maker Novartis AG, for instance, decided late last year to build a drug manufacturing plant in Singapore, after initially considering Massachusetts as one of several potential sites.
"I think our ability to attract and retain the best and brightest talent in the world is being challenged by other parts of the world," said Matthew Gardner, president of BayBio, which represents Northern California's life sciences industry.
California and Massachusetts are also battling with each other. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger talked up the state's biotech industry during yesterday's keynote speech at BIO, boasting about top research centers, tax credits, that state's existing base of biotech companies, and a $3 billion investment in stem cell research. "This is more than any nation in the world is doing," Schwarzenegger said.
Yup, we are all COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER!!!
And WHO SITS BACK, WATCHES, and GETS RICH, huh?
But Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said Patrick "blocked Schwarzenegger's jump shot" with his $1 billion initiative, which provides money for a broader range of life sciences research and companies than does California.
Despite the increased competition, Massachusetts' bio cluster has continued to grow. A PricewaterhouseCoopers study released last week estimated life sciences employment in the state climbed 8 percent from 2001 to 2006, to 77,000 workers, even as other industries shrank. The report also said Massachusetts generates more life sciences patents and doctorates per resident than any other state. In addition, it received more funding from the National Institutes of Health per capita than any other state. The report was sponsored by the New England HealthCare Institute, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center."
And the guv must be reaching a lot of people (hope he enjoyed the taxpayer-sponsored vacation):
"Not everyone's heard Mass., Maryland pitches" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | June 19, 2008
SAN DIEGO - Massachusetts and Maryland may be working hard to hype their billion-dollar efforts to create more life sciences jobs, but the message has yet to resonate with everyone at the BIO 2008 international convention this week.
"Never heard about it," said Thomas Heck, managing director of the Life Sciences Center Dusseldorf, a German incubator for small biotechnology companies.
What?! It has been shoveled in our faces for a week now!!!!
John Rothman, who runs a small New Jersey biotech company, said he knew only a little about the Massachusetts and Maryland proposals, but he had noticed that both states were heavily promoting the initiatives.
"I presume they are doing it to generate biotech jobs," said Rothman, chief executive of Advaxis Inc., standing in a small booth at the convention, which is the biotech industry's largest. Rothman said Advaxis is based in New Jersey because it needs to be close to the university researchers who work with it, not because of any economic incentives. The company is in the early stages of developing drugs to treat cancer and HIV.
Oh, create and distribute diseases and viruses, then make $$$$ developing a cure!!!! Nice gig.
John Gong, vice president at a Chinese company that conducts animal research for drug companies, said both Massachusetts and Maryland's initiatives were impressive. Gong, who is based in Maryland, noted that both states have other compelling features for biotech companies.
"You have top universities. We have the FDA," said Gong, who was at a party for attendees of the biotech show, which is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Last year's convention was held in Boston.
What did the man from a Chinese company mean they have the FDA?
That explains how all the poison products came in, doesn't it?
Walt Plosila, who coauthored a report released yesterday on Massachusetts' efforts to attract biotech, said the state has adopted "one of the larger" bioscience packages to be unveiled in the past few years. Plosila, a senior adviser for Ohio-based Battelle, said it should help the state compete."
Yeah, you give away $$$ and people SHOW UP!
No kidding?
