Center's Board approves new round of Accelerator loans,
2011 Accelerator company MoMelan Technologies, Inc., repays loan
Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister receive MoMelan Technologies’ Accelerator loan repayment check from CEO Sameer Sabir. (From left to right: Sameer Sabir, CEO, MoMelan Technologies, Inc.; Greg Bialecki, Secretary of the Office of Housing and Economic Development; Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.)
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), a quasi-public agency charged with implementing the state’s 10-year, $1-billion Life Sciences Initiative, today announced the awarding of nearly $4 million in loans to four early-stage life sciences companies. The MLSC’s Accelerator Loan program provides loans of up to $1 million to early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing. The MLSC’s Board of Directors approved the sixth round of Accelerator loans today.
The MLSC also announced today that MoMelan Technologies, Inc., of Cambridge, a company that was awarded a $750,000 Accelerator loan in 2011, has repaid its loan early after being acquired by Texas-based Kinetic Concepts, Inc. Momelan is a medical device company developing an innovative epidermal grafting solution utilizing donor site-sparing technology for enabling and standardizing the use of epidermal skin grafting that can be performed in the office or outpatient setting with minimal discomfort. This technology enables a consistent and reproducible harvest of autologous grafts of uniform thickness that are immediately applied to the recipient site. The company’s loan repayment totaled $811,000.
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ReproCELL, Inc., expands to U.S., opening office in Boston
From left to right: Takashi Masai, COO, ReproCELL USA, Inc.; Joy Clark, Business Development Associate, ReproCELL USA, Inc.; Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Akira Muto, Japanese Consul General; Hiroma Miura, President, Scivax USA, Inc.
ReproCell, Inc., a Japanese stem cell technology company, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) today announced the opening of the company’s first branch and U.S. office in Boston. ReproCELL is the fourth company that has announced plans for a Massachusetts office after meeting with the MLSC and other state partners at the recent BIO International Convention in Boston this past June. ReproCELL is also the third Japanese life sciences company to announce plans for expansion into Massachusetts in the past six months, following Scivax and HMT.
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Promedior opens new office and laboratories in Lexington, Mass.
Local officials gathered at Promedior’s new Lexington facility to celebrate the grand opening (from left to right): Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Dr. Suzanne Bruhm, President & CEO, Promedior; Melisa Tintocalis, Economic Development Director, Town of Lexington; Carl Valente, Town Manager, Town of Lexington.
Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel biologic therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center today announced the opening of Promedior’s new office and laboratory space at 101 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, Mass.
Consolidating all of its operations, the new facility will serve as the company’s headquarters and completes the corporate move from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn. Promedior’s new facility includes state-of-the-art laboratories to support product development and commercialization of the company's novel Pentraxin-2 therapeutics to treat fibrosis, including a number of rare diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and myelofibrosis.
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U.K.-founded Cambridge Consultants kicks off U.S. recruitment campaign
Cambridge Consultants, a leading design and development firm based in the United Kingdom, has kicked off a U.S. recruitment effort to identity and attract new talent in the medical technology arena – with the goal of doubling the number of employees at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., over the next four years. The recruitment campaign comes after company leaders announced their US expansion plans during Governor Deval Patrick’s U.K. trade mission last spring.
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UMass Dartmouth tops off new Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing (MAB)
Local officials gather to participate in the UMass Dartmouth Topping-off Event (from left to right): Katherine Craven, Executive Director, UMass Building Authority; State Senator Michael Rodrigues; Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Robert Caret, UMass President; William Flanagan, Fall River Mayor; Mardee Xifaras, UMass Board of Trustees.
UMass President Robert L. Caret and Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister of the MLSC joined other local and state leaders on December 6, 2012, in Fall River to mark the end of the first stage of construction of the Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (the MAB).
Roughly 120 construction jobs have been created – just a down payment on the permanent, high-paying jobs created after the MAB‘s completion next fall, when it will anchor a growing SouthCoast Life Science and Technology Park starting in January 2014.
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BioSurplus celebrates grand opening in Watertown, Mass.
Pictured at the BioSurplus ribbon-cutting event, from left to right: Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Jackie Townsend, CMO of BioSurplus; and Brenda Fanara, Executive Director of the Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce.
BioSurplus celebrated on Dec. 6, 2012, the grand opening of its new 20,000-square-foot showroom and warehouse located at 57 Water Street in Watertown, Mass. In July, BioSurplus announced a $2.4-million investment infusion for its Boston expansion. Since then, the company has hired more than a half-dozen key personnel, with more hires planned for this year.
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Call for military veterans for the Massachusetts Medical Technology Veterans Program (MassMVP): Providing training and internships for returning heroes
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), in partnership with the International Center for Professional Development (ICPD), invite all Massachusetts veterans to apply to the Medical Technology Veterans Program (MassMVP).
The year-long mentoring and internship program will train up to 50 Massachusetts veterans to enter the medical technology workforce, beginning with a training event on February 14, 2013 in Boston, Mass. Applications are due January 15, 2013.
Click here to download the program flyer. Click here to download an agenda of the event.
NECN Business interviews Angus McQuilken, Center Vice President for Communications and Marketing, on November 30, 2012
Era7 Bioinformatics expands to U.S., Opens office in Cambridge, Mass.
Era7 Bioinformatics, a Next Generation Sequencing provider based in Spain, announced November 29, 2012, the opening of its first U.S. office, located in the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Cambridge, Mass. Era7 expects to have three employees in Cambridge by the end of 2013.
Era7 worked closely with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as they developed their plans for their first U.S. office.
Read the press release here >>
BioAxone BioSciences celebrates official opening of clinical and research operations in Cambridge, Mass.
Industry leaders and local officials gather to welcome BioAxone to Massachusetts: From left to right - Kelly Thompson Clark, President & CEO, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce; Angus McQuilken, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Kelda Rawlings, Director of North American Sales, Arrayjet; Peter Abair, Director of Economic Development and Global Affairs, MassBio; Tim Rowe, Founder & CEO, CIC; Parth Pathak, Jr., Consultant, Regulatory Affairs and Quality, Qserve America Inc.; Kristen McCosh, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, City of Boston; Dr. Lisa McKerracher, CEO, BioAxone.
BioAxone BioSciences, a privately held biotechnology company, celebrated on Nov. 28, 2012, the opening of its scientific and clinical headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., as well as its selection this week by Windhover Conferences as one of the “Top Ten” Neuroscience Companies for Partnership. BioAxone, headquartered in Florida, is developing a protein therapeutic drug called Cethrin to improve patient recovery from spinal cord injury. Its scientific and clinical headquarters will be located at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Cambridge, Mass., which was selected for its concentration of life sciences companies, availability of walk-in wet-lab incubator space and its skilled workforce. Dr. McKerracher will be starting operations in Cambridge, with plans to hire 12 employees by 2013.
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Center launches International Partnership Assistance Portal
The MLSC announced on November 27, 2012, the opening of a free, web-based portal to help Massachusetts companies seek and find international partners.
The International Partnership Assistance Portal (IP-ap) is accepting profiles from Massachusetts life sciences companies that are interested in exploring business-to-business partnerships in areas such as early- or later-stage R&D, clinical trials, manufacturing, distribution or commercialization. The MLSC is working with international agencies to market the portal among the international life sciences business communities and encourage companies interested in collaborating with Massachusetts industry partners to enter their profiles in the portal. Click here to get started!
Read the press release here >>
Former Internship Challenge student wins international competition
Internship Challenge participant Brian Dutra with the poster of his winning project.
Western New England University graduate student Brian Dutra won first place in the Old Guard Oral Presentation Competition held at the 2012 American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition held in Houston, Texas.
Dutra claimed the top prize for his presentation on “Acoustophoretic Separation of Lipid Particles from Red Blood Cells,” a process of removing microscopic impurities from blood using ultrasonic standing waves.
Dutra was a summer intern at FloDesign Sonics and ultimately became an employee of the Wilbraham-based company. His internship was made possible by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Internship Challenge – a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts companies engaged in life sciences. This year-round program reimburses eligible companies, like FloDesign Sonics, for intern stipends.
Read the press release here >>
Center Launches Third Round of Cooperative Research Matching Grant Program
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has launched the third round of the Cooperative Research Matching Grant Program, which is designed to promote industry-academic research collaborations, support translational research and accelerate the commercialization of promising products, and services.
Eligible not-for-profit research institutions are invited to apply for grant funding of up to $500,000. To learn more, and to apply, please click here.
Read the press release here >>
Center and MassMEDIC announce medical technology mentoring program for local veterans
The MLSC and MassMEDIC announced November 9, 2012 plans for a medical technology mentoring program for U.S. military veterans residing in Massachusetts. The program will train up to 50 Massachusetts veterans to enter the medical technology workforce as part of the Massachusetts Medical Technology Veterans Program (MassMVP) and is being organized in partnership with the International Center for Professional Development (ICPD), an experienced provider of career development counseling using personalized mentoring, face-to-face experiential training and ongoing web-based support. The expanded program builds on the work that began last month with the launch of the Medical Technology Veterans Program (MVP) at AdvaMed 2012: The Medtech Conference in Boston and will provide veterans with training and networking opportunities within the medical device and diagnostics industries, including opportunities to exchange knowledge with industry experts.
Read the press release here >>
Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc., (HMT) expands to U.S., opening office in Cambridge, Mass.
Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc. (HMT), the leading developer of capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE-MS) based metabolomics, announced on November 8, 2012, the opening of its first U.S. office in Cambridge, Mass. The new office is expected to house up to 20 employees and a laboratory by 2015. HMT is based in Tsuruoka, Japan.
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ConforMIS Announces New Corporate Headquarters to Accommodate Substantial Growth, Increased Job Creation and Scaled Manufacturing
ConforMIS, Inc., a privately held medical device company that is pioneering patient specific orthopedic implants, announced on November 1, 2012 that it has relocated its headquarters to 28 Crosby Drive in Bedford, Mass. The new space, combined with the manufacturing facility in Burlington, quadruples the total square footage of the company’s existing property. The company now has more than 120,000 square feet available for its operations.
Read the press release here >>
Thermedical Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Promising New Ablation System
Thermedical™, a medical equipment company developing new tissue-ablation therapies, announced on October 31, 2012, that it has received U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market its innovative technology for the coagulation and ablation of soft tissue during percutaneous, laparoscopic and intraoperative surgical procedures. Thermedical was awarded a $500,000 Small Business Matching Grant in 2010 from the MLSC.
Read the press release here >>
Governor Patrick celebrates new Genzyme Biomanufacturing facility opening in Framingham
Governor Patrick speaks at Genzyme's open house in Framingham.
On October 22, 2012, Governor Deval Patrick today joined Genzyme, a Sanofi subsidiary and the world’s third-largest biotechnology company, at an open house to celebrate the recent opening of the company’s new biomanufacturing facility in Framingham. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) awarded grant funding totaling $14.3 million to the town of Framingham to upgrade its wastewater collection system in conjunction with Genzyme’s large-scale biomanufacturing expansion project.
Read the press release here >>
NECN Business interviews Angus McQuilken, Center Vice President for Communications and Marketing, on October 19, 2012
Lt. Governor Timothy Murray visits Biosurfaces - a MLSC Internship Challenge host company
Lt. Governor Timothy Murray visits Biosurfaces and learns more about their participating in the MLSC Internship Challenge program
On October 18, 2012, Lt. Governor Timothy Murray stopped by Biosurfaces, a medical device company in Ashland, Mass. Biosurfaces staff and interns showcased their patented biomaterial technologies and spoke about their participation in the MLSC Internship Challenge. Biosurfaces has worked with eight interns over the past four years.
Arrayjet increases presence in North America with opening of first U.S. sales office
Due to increased demand for its inkjet microarrayers and microarray manufacturing services in North America, Arrayjet announced on October 18, 2012 the opening of a sales office in Cambridge, Mass. The announcement follows the March 2011 visit to the U.K. by Governor Patrick and a delegation of state leaders from industry, academia and government to promote mutually beneficial collaborations. The company has already located its first employee in Cambridge, with plans for future growth.
Read the press release here >>
Governor Patrick joins NXStage Medical to open new company headquarters in Lawrence, Mass.
NxStage ribbon cutting (from left to right): NxStage Medical CEO Jeffrey Burbank, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, State Senator Barry Finegold, Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Vice President for Communications and Marketing Angus McQuilken
Governor Deval Patrick joined NXStage Medical, Inc., a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative systems for the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and acute kidney failure, on October 15, 2012 to cut a ribbon and officially open the company’s new headquarters in Lawrence, Mass. The Masschusetts Life Sciences Center awarded approximately $1.3 million in tax incentives to NXStage Medical in 2010 to encourage the company’s growth in Massachusetts.
Read the media advisory here >>
UMass Lowell Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center opens its doors
Aspiring scientists pause their work to pose for the camera at UMass Lowell's new ETIC.
UMass Lowell's 84,000-square-foot, $80 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC) officially opened its doors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 11, 2012. The state-of-the-art facility is home to cutting-edge research in nanotechnology, molecular biology, plastics engineering and optics that will advance fields such as life sciences, energy, national security, environmental protection and more. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded a $10-million grant to help fund the ETIC's equipment.
Read the media advisory here >>
STC Biologics, Inc., receives $2.5-million SBIR Phase II contract from the National Cancer Institute
STC Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company specializing in biosimilar development, announced today that it entered into a $2.5-million Phase II SBIR contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop a biosimilar version of a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cancer. The NCI funding will create at least seven new jobs at the company in Massachusetts. The MLSC wrote a letter of support to supplement STC Biologics’ application for the SBIR Phase II funding. STC Biologics has also hired eight interns through the MLSC’s “Internship Challenge” program.
Read the press release here >>
Three companies announce plans to locate in Massachusetts
U.S. Army Veteran Theresa Hannigan demonstrates ARGO’s ReWalk at the AdvaMed 2012 Massachusetts Pavilion; In background from left to right: Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Affairs Coleman Nee, ARGO Board of Directors member Wayne Weisman , MassMEDIC President Tom Sommer, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and ARGO CEO Larry Jasinski.
Gov. Deval Patrick joined the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and ARGO Medical Technologies at the AdvaMed 2012 conference in Boston on October 2, 2012, to announce that Israeli-founded exoskeleton technology leader, ARGO, has selected Massachusetts as its U.S. headquarters.
Read the press release here >>
On October 1, 2012, independent medical device regulatory consulting firm Qserve Group announced that it has opened a new U.S. headquarters office for Qserve America, Inc., at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Read the press release here >>
On October 4, 2012, Sialix, Inc., a company developing products for the treatment and prevention of cancer and chronic inflammatory conditions, announced the execution of an option agreement with Momenta Pharmaceuticals to license an undisclosed monoclonal antibody therapeutic program under development by Sialix. In addition, Sialix announced that its corporate headquarters will be relocated to Cambridge, Mass., at Dogpatch Labs.
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UMass Amherst awarded $308,000 for life sciences research project focused on regional growth
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced today the approval of a $308,000 capital grant to support a research project at the University of Massachusetts Amherst entitled "Life Sciences Research & Innovation: Growth Strategy for UMass Amherst in the Massachusetts Bioeconomy."
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InVivo Therapeutics opens new office and labs in Cambridge, Mass.
From left to right: Frank Reynolds, CEO of InVivo Therapeutics; Peter Abair, Director of Economic Development & Global Affairs at MassBio; Mike Ferriter, Greater Boston Chapter, National Spinal Cord Injury Association; Jason Fowler, 2012 Half Ironman Triathlon World Champion; Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
InVivo Therapeutics, a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and Neurotrauma, today hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the company’s new office, manufacturing and lab space at One Kendall Square, Building 1400 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Consolidating all of InVivo’s operations, the 21,000 square foot facility will serve as the new headquarters for the company.
Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and seven global biopharma companies announce the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium’s first solicitation
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and seven global biopharmaceutical companies announced today the opening of the first research solicitation of the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium. The Consortium, the formation of which was announced in June at the Bio International Convention, will fund pre-clinical neuroscience research at Massachusetts academic and research institutions. Participating companies include Abbott, Biogen Idec, EMD Serono, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Merck, Pfizer and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Read the press release here >>
NECN Business interviews Susan Windham-Bannister, Center President and CEO, on September 21, 2012
Algeta U.S. celebrates official opening of operational center in Cambridge, MA
From left to right: Celebrating the opening of Algeta U.S.’ new offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts are Philina Lee, Director, U.S. Marketing, Algeta U.S.; Oystein Soug, CFO, Algeta ASA; Jeff Albers, President, Algeta U.S.; Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray; State Representative Timothy Toomey (D-Cambridge); Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Peter Abair, Director, Economic Development & Global Affairs, MassBio; Tom Klima, National Sales Director, Algeta U.S.; Khalid Mamlouk, Sr. Director, U.S. Medical Affairs, Algeta U.S.
On Tuesday, September 18th, 2012, Algeta ASA, a Norway-based company focused on the development of novel targeted cancer therapeutics, celebrated the official opening of the offices and facilities of Algeta US in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Read the press release here >>
Alacrita establishes U.S. headquarters in Boston area
Alacrita, which is changing the face of pharma consulting, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Investment and MassBio announced on September 14th, 2012, that the U.K.-based company has expanded into Massachusetts. Alacrita has formally established a new office in Cambridge, Massachusetts that will allow the company to build its US life science consulting capability and more effectively serve its clients in North America.
Read the press release here >>
Internship Challenge SouthCoast participants gather at UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center to highlight summer internships
On Thursday, August 30, 2012, SouthCoast participants in the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Internship Challenge gathered at UMass Dartmouth’s Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center to present on their summer internship experiences. The event brought together several of the region’s life sciences companies, which hosted interns funded by the Center.
From left to right: Dr. Lou Petrovic, Director, ATMC; Paul Vigeant, Assistant Chancellor for Economic Development, UMass Dartmouth; Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, MLSC; Jane N. Staples, Director, Cooperative Education & Internship Program, UMass Dartmouth; Ryan H. Mudawar, Senior Program Associate, MLSC.
Center awards grant to support MedTech Veterans Program at AdvaMed
From left to right: David Lucchino, Semprus Biosciences, Secretary Coleman Nee, TJ Rivera, Haemonetics Corporation, Kevin Blanchard, American Legion, Tom Eisminger, Regenesis Biomedical Inc., Susan Windham-Bannister, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
On August 14, 2012, more than 130 medical device and diagnostic industry stakeholders, investors, innovators, service providers, and media joined officials from AdvaMed 2012: The MedTech Conference to mark the six-week countdown to the October 1-3, 2012 event. Boston is the first city outside of Washington, D.C., to host the annual medical technology conference—the largest dedicated gathering of senior industry leaders in North America.
As part of the kick-off event, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) previewed its MedTech Veterans Program (MVP) Boot Camp for Returning Heroes, which will be held in conjunction with AdvaMed 2012: The MedTech Conference. This program is recruiting qualified veterans seeking internships or full-time jobs in the medical technology industry.
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s grant for the MedTech Veterans Program totals $25,000. Danvers-based Abiomed will be matching that grant dollar-for-dollar, for a total of $50,000 in funding announced for the program.
Read the press release here >>
NECN Business interviews Susan Windham-Bannister, Center President and CEO, on August 10, 2012
SCIVAX USA, Inc. opens sales office in Boston area
On July 31, 2012, SCIVAX USA, Inc., a 3D cell culture system provider, announced that the company has launched a sales office in Woburn, Massachusetts. The company is headquarted in Kawasaki, Japan.
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KeraFAST Opens New Headquarters in Boston
From left to right: Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, Director of Strategic Alliances/In-House Counsel, MassBio, Peter Meade, Director, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Robert Bondaryk, Ph.D., President and CEO, KeraFAST, Inc., and Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President and CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, celebrate KeraFAST's opening of their new headquarters in Boston's Innovation District.
On July 25, 2012, KeraFAST, Inc., a Life Science Research Products Company that offers unique bioreagents, rare laboratory research materials and services, opened its new headquarters in Boston with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by state, local and industry officials. The company's new 3,000 square foot facility is located at 27 Drydock Ave. in Boston's Innovation District. Mayor Menino's life sciences program, LifeTech, assisted KeraFAST, Inc in finding the location. The company had previously been headquarted in North Carolina.
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2012 Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program is Open
The Center announced on July 23, 2012 that applications are now being accepted for the 2012 Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program. All applications are due by noon on October 25, 2012.
The Program offers tax incentives to companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing in Massachusetts.
Read the press release here >>
For more information on this program, and to apply, please click here.
Center Announces Next Round of Capital Program
On July 13, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced the launch of the 2012 Capital Program, the second round of an open solicitation for life-sciences related capital projects. The solicitation covers equipment and supplies for vocational technical high schools and public high schools in Gateway Cities, as well as capital projects for academic/research institutions (including community colleges), business incubators, and other not-for-profit organizations in the Commonwealth. The Center will invest in STEM education in select high schools and in high-potential economic development projects across the state that promise to create jobs and make a significant contribution to the state’s life sciences ecosystem.
Read the press release here >>
For information on the Capital Program, and to apply, please click here.
For information on the Capital Program: Equipment and Supplies for High Schools, and to apply, please click here.
Center Announces Next Round of Life Sciences Accelerator Loan Program
On July 9, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced the launch of the 2012-2013 Accelerator Loan Program, the Center's flagship investment program that provides working capital to early-stage life sciences companies. The Center is now accepting applications, which are due by noon EST August 8, 2012.
Read the press release here >>
For information on this program, and to apply, please click here.
Center Announces Formation of Neuroscience Consortium
On June 20, 2012, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and seven global biopharmaceutical companies announced the formation of the Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium (the "Consortium"). Participating companies include Abbott, Biogen Idec, EMD Serono, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Merck, Pfizer, and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. The Consortium will fund pre-clinical neuroscience at Massachusetts academic and research institutions. The announcement took place in the Massachusetts Pavilion at the 2012 BIO International Convention.
Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership Grants Announced
On June 19, 2012, Governor Deval Patrick and Israeli Chief Scientist Avi Hasson announced the first round of grants awarded under the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP). A total of at least $1.3 million is being awarded to four research & development collaborations between Massachusetts and Israeli companies that have been jointly approved by the funding agencies on both sides. The total budget of the awarded projects is estimated at approximately $3 million. The Massachusetts awardees are located in Natick, Needham, North Billerica and Wilbraham.
Read the press release here >>
FORMA Therapeutics Opens New Watertown Headquarters
On June 15, 2012, FORMA Therapeutics hosted an open house event to celebrate its new state-of-the-art headquarters at 500 Arsenal Street, Suite 100 in Watertown, MA. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, along with representatives from the Massachusetts LIfe Sciences Center, MassBio and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. joined FORMA's leadership and employees, industry colleagues and Arsenal Street neighbors in toasting the Company's expanding footprint and successes to date.
Read the press release here >>
Joslin Diabetes Center Breaks Ground on Translational Center for the Cure of Diabetes
Governor Deval Patrick at the June groundbreaking of Joslin Diabetes Center's Translational Center for the Cure of Diabetes
On June 14, 2012, Joslin Diabetes Center broke ground on its new Translational Center for the Cure of Diabetes at its campus in the heart of Boston's Longwood Medical Area of Boston. Governor Deval Patrick swung a sledgehammer along with Joslin President & CEO, John Brooks and the President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Susan Windham-Bannister.
Springfield Technical Community College, recipient of one of the Center's Equipment and Supplies Grants, holds Biotechnology Center grand opening
On June 13, 2012, Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) held an open house event for their Biotechnology Program. Furnished with state of the art equipment funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in 2011, the STCC Biotechnology Center will allow the college to continue its tradition of providing a high quality education preparing students for careers in the biotechnology industry.
From left to right: Alondra Santana, Dr. Robert Dickerman, Dean of Math, Sciences & Engineering Transfer, Jenaye Walbert, LaQuita Woods, Ryan Mudawar, Program Associate & Grants Administrator, Mass Life Sciences Center, Dr. Lisa Rapp, STCC Biotechnology Chair, Doug Gendron, Biology Teacher at NLCS. Photo courtesy of Joan E. Thomas
Batavia Bioservices opens US facility in Woburn
Batavia Bioservices, a service provider aiding its customers in the development of complex biological medicines, has decided to launch a US facility in Woburn, Massachusetts. The company is headquarted in Leiden, The Netherlands.
Read the press release here >>
Xenetic Biosciences moves drug development program to MA
On June 12, 2012, Xenetic Biosciences plc, Governor Deval Patrick and the Center announced that the UK-based, publicly-listed comopany plans to relocate its drug development operations to Massachusetts. The relocation decision follows the March 2011 visit to the UK by Governor Patrick and a delegation of state leaders from industry, academia and government.
Read the press release here >>
Thermo Fisher Scientific Opens Center for Excellence in Tewksbury
On June 11, 2012, Governor Deval Patrick and other officials celebrated the grand opening of Thermo Fisher Scientific's Center for Excellence for portable analytical instruments in Tewksbury. The grand opening served as another event in a series of Massachusetts life sciences growth announcements taking place in the days prior to the BIO International Convention, which opens June 18 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Read the press release here >>
Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Opens New Facility in Andover
On June 7, 2012, Governor Patrick and the Center joined Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on precision diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, as it opened its new business and commercialization facility in Andover, Mass.
Read the press release here >>
2012 BIO International Convention in Boston
The 2012 BIO International Convention returns to Boston for the global event for biotechnology, which will take place June 18 - 21, 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Read the press release here >>
Center President & CEO reads to Mather Elementary Students
Susan Windham-Bannister, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center's President & CEO, reads "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith to students during the 3rd Annual Special Guest Reader Day at Mather Elementary in Boston.
Firefly BioWorks Awarded $500,000 Small Business Matching Grant
From left to right: Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D., Director and CSO, Cytonome/ST; Davide Marini, Co-Founder and CEO, Firefly BioWorks; Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President and CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Edward Benz, M.D., President and CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
On May 23, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded a $500,000 Small Business Matching Grant to Firefly BioWorks of Cambridge. The grant will match federal small business grant funding the company has been awarded previously. The grant represents the third round of awards issued under the Center's Small Business Matching Grant ("SBMG") Program. Eight companies have now received a total of $4 million in grants since the Center's first round of awards in May of 2010. Read the press release here >>
Ground Broken On First In the Nation
Biomanufacturing Center
Governor Deval Patrick joined the May 2012 groundbreaking for the $28 million Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing (MAB) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Fall River. The MAB has been funded in part through a $14.6 million capital grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Read the press release here >>
BioSurplus Raises Capital for Expansion into Boston area
From left to right: Preston “Cinco” Plumb, President & CEO, BioSurplus; Angus McQuilken, VP for Communications, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Jackie Townsend, M.S., Chief Marketing Officer, BioSurplus; and Robert Yacobian, Leasing Director, Cummings Properties, celebrating BioSurplus’ arrival in Massachusetts
On May 10, 2012, BioSurplus, Inc., a leading provider of equipment management services and pre-owned laboratory instruments, announced the completion of the majority of its $1.5 million capital raise from KI Investment Holdings. The funds will be used to fund an East Coast expansion into Boston. Read the press release here >>
Sony DADC BioSciences opens Massachusetts office
From left to right: Christoph Mauracher, head of the BioSciences Unit, Sony DADC Biosciences, Denise Simmons, Vice Mayor of the City of Cambridge, MA, Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and Ali Tinazli, Ph.D., Director of Business Development & Sales, BioSciences, Sony DADC Biosciences
Sony DADC Biosciences announced the opening of a new US office, located at 2 Canal Park, 5th Floor, in Cambridge, Massaschusetts. The company, headquarted in Austria, develops and manufactures the advanced polymer-based smart consumables that form key components for modern healthcare diagnostic systems. Read the press release here >>
UMass Lowell Awarded $10 million for Emerging Technologies Center
On April 30, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced the approval of a $10 million capital grant to support construction of UMass Lowell's Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center. The 84,000-square-foot, $70 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC) is scheduled to open this fall. Read the press release here >>
Center awards $2.3 million in Accelerator Loans
On April 24, 2012, the Center awarded $2.3 million in loans to five early-stage life sciences companies through the Center’s Accelerator Loan Program. The Accelerator Program provides loans of up to $750,000 to promising early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing. This was the Center’s fifth round of Accelerator loans. Read the press release here >>
Center joins Novartis for Cambridge groundbreaking
On April 12, 2012, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister joined Novartis and other local officials at a groundbreaking at Novartis' growing research facility.
Pluromed, Inc. is Fourth Company to Repay Center Loan
On April 12, 2012, the Center and Pluromed, Inc. announced the Woburn-based company's repayment of the Center's Accelerator loan, with interest. In 2009, Pluromed, Inc. was awarded a loan of $500,000 from the Center. Read the press release here >>
From left to right: Sanofi Biosurgery Senior Vice President and General Manager Alison Lawton and Pluromed President & CEO Jean-Marie Vogel present a check to Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister representing Pluromed’s repayment of the Center’s 2009 Accelerator loan.
4s3 Bioscience, Inc. Repays Center's Accelerator Loan
On March 16, 2012, the Center and 4s3 Bioscience, Inc. announced the Medford-based company's repayment of the Center's Accelerator loan, with interest. This is the third company to repay an Accelerator loan from the Center. Read the press release here >>
Fom left to right: Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Timothy Harris, President & CEO, 4s3 Bisocience, Inc., and Dustin Armstrong, Ph.D., Vice President of Research, 4s3 Bioscience, Inc.
NECN Business interviews Susan Windham-Bannister
On Friday, March 16, NECN Business interviewed Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, for their monthly Life Science report.
Read the story and watch the interview here >>
$5 Million Federal Grant Will Build Metro Boston’s Life Sciences Workforce -- Center to receive $800,000 over four years to supplement the Internship Challenge!
On March 8, 2012, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced receiving a 4-year $5 million life sciences grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will grow and maintain the area’s life sciences workforce. The Metro Boston Skilled Careers in Life Sciences (SCILS) initiative will provide industry specific job training for 360 metro Boston residents, support an additional 300 post-secondary students in internships, and provide career counseling and outreach services to over 3,000 individuals in Boston’s most competitive industries.
SCILS is being implemented in collaboration with the City of Boston’s Jobs and Community Services, and the MetroNorth, Metro Southwest, and South Coastal workforce regions. Training partners will include Boston University, Quincy College, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The program will serve more than 80 cities and towns in Metro Boston.
Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, addressing the audience following Mayor Menino's announcement at the Boston University School of Medicine on March 8, 2012.
Read the press release here >>
Center's President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister Tours Albright Technologies in Leominster
On March 8, 2012, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister visited and toured Leominster-based Albright Technologies, a company that specializes in manufacturing prototype and low volume production silicone components for medical, pharmaceutical and life science applications. Albright has participated in the Internship Challenge, a workforce development program offered by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center that connects students and recent college graduates with paid internship opportunities, funded by the Center, at life sciences companies across the state. The company hired two of their interns (pictured below) that participated in the program as project engineers at the conclusion of their internships.
From left to right: Phayhean Soo, Project Engineer, Albright Technologies; Diane Hewitt, Cooperative Education for Engineering & Technology, UMass Lowell; Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; David Comeau, President, Albright Technologies; John Henshaw, Assistant Dean, School of Business, Science, and Technology. Mount Wachusett Community College; Veasna Nhem, Project Engineer, Albright Technologies.
View the slideshow for more photos from this event:
Center attends the Massachusetts CRO CMO Cluster Symposium
On March 6, 2012, Pamela Norton, Vice President for Industry Relations and Programs, participated in the Massachusetts CRO CMO Cluster Introduction Symposium, sponsored by MassBio's Massachusetts CRO CMO committee. The symposium was an opportunity for attendees to learn about accelerating drug development through a series of case studies, interactive panel discussions, and networking sessions. The Keynote address was given by Josef H. von Rickenbach, Chair of the Board, CEO and Founder of Paraxel International.
From left to right: Douglas Banks, Associate Vice President for Economic Development, University of Massachusetts President's Office, and Pamela Norton, Vice President for Industry Relations and Programs, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
Center announces Tax Incentives Targeting Growth at 28 Companies
On February 22, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced that the Center's Board of Directors has awarded $21.2 million in tax incentives to 28 life sciences companies. The recipient companies have committed to creating more than 940 new jobs in the Commonwealth this year. Read the press release here >>
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts receives $50,000 Center grant
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. The grant will allow for a 10-week module in STEM within the FaB Factor Program, which is an early intervention and prevention program for at-risk, inner-city girls ranging from five to 17 years old. Read the press release here >>
Center launches 2012-2013 Internship Challenge
On February 1, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center launched its 2012-13 Internship Challenge. The workforce development program, now in its fourth year, focuses on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts life sciences companies and will provide paid internship opportunities at life sciences companies for students and recent graduates. Read the press release here >>
Center awards $10 million grant to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has awarded Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a $10 million grant to support the expansion of its pioneering cancer imaging research program. The grant was given as part of the 2011 Capital Project Matching Grant program and will help fund the establishment of the Molecular Cancer Imaging Facility. Read the press release here >>
Center awards $5 million for the Museum of Science's Hall of Human Health exhibit
On January 25, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded the Museum of Science, Boston with a $5 million grant toward the construction of the Hall of Human Life, scheduled to open in 2013. This grant was awarded as part of the Center's 2011 Capital Project Matching Grant program. Read the press release here >>
Center provides $5 million to the Joslin Diabetes Center
On January 25, 2012, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced a $5 million grant to the Joslin Diabetes Center. The grant and matching funds will be used to build an innovative Translational Center for the Cure of Diabetes. Read the press release here >>
IDBS opens Healthcare Center of Excellence in Burlington
Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center joined officials from IDBS to open the company's Healthcare Center of Excellence and to celebrate the expansion of the IDBS business in Massachusetts. Read the press release here >>
From left to right: IDBS Healthcare Marketing Director Simon Beaulah, Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Investment Executive Director Kenneth Brown, State Senator Kenneth Donnelly, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center COO Melissa Walsh, IDBS VP of Business Development Chris Molloy, Governor Deval Patrick, IDBS VP of Healthcare Dr. Paul Denny-Gouldson and UK Deputy Consul Anne Avidon
Center launches Third Year of Small Business Matching Grant Program
On January 4, 2012, the Center opened the third year of the Center’s Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) Program. The Program provides grant funding to match federal small business grants for early-stage life sciences companies in Massachusetts. $3 million is available for the program in this round. Click here for more information >>
Center awards $2.2 million in Accelerator Loans
In December, 2011 the Center awarded $2.2 million in loans to three early-stage life sciences companies through the Center’s Accelerator Loan Program. The Accelerator Program provides loans of up to $750,000 to promising early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing. This was the Center’s fourth round of Accelerator loans. Read the press release here >>
NECN Business interviews Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the MLSC
Read the story and view the interview >>
Massachusetts reaches out to growing life sciences clusters in Chile and Brazil
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has participated in Governor Deval Patrick’s Innovation Economy Mission to Chile and Brazil. The visit to Chile included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera to expand collaboration between Massachusetts and Chile in the innovation economy, with a focus on growing jobs and opportunities in the areas of education, clean energy and biotechnology. The delegation then traveled to Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, visiting Brazilian companies, universities and government leaders to highlight all that Massachusetts has to offer. The visit to Brazil focuses on creating jobs in the life sciences, IT, clean energy and education sectors and solidifying the already strong Massachusetts-Brazil connection.
Governor Deval Patrick and Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister at signing of innovation economy agreement with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera
H3 Biomedicine opens new headquarters in Cambridge
H3 Biomedicine Inc., a cancer drug discovery company, has dedicated a new headquarters and 24,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space in Cambridge. Over the next year, the company plans to increase its staff to 70 people and further expand into more laboratory space within its building as it continues to pursue its mission to fulfill the promise of personalized cancer medicine. Read the release here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Vice President for Communications Angus McQuilken joins officials from H3 Biomedicine and Eisai to dedicate H3’s new headquarters and lab facilities in Cambridge
Center Launches Fall 2011 Round of Accelerator Program
The Center has launched the Fall 2011 round of the Accelerator Loan Program for early-stage companies. The Accelerator Program reflects the Center’s ongoing commitment to supporting early-stage life sciences companies that will grow employment opportunities and stimulate innovation across the Commonwealth. The Center is targeting an investment of $6 million through the Accelerator Program for FY 2012 (July 2011 – June 2012). Applications are due by December 30 at noon EST. To apply or to get more information click here >>
MedicaMetrix wins first-ever WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest Life Sciences Track
MedicaMetrix has been awarded $10,000 in the first-ever WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest Life Sciences Track competition. The new track, added to the competition for the first time this year, was funded through a sponsorship from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. MedicaMetrix produces urological medical devices with demonstrated “comparative effectiveness” to reduce the cost of healthcare while improving clinical outcomes. Read the press release here >>
From left to right are Nick Pappas (Vice President, Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation); Richard Trembowicz (President, MedicaMetrix), Susan Windham-Bannister (President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center), and Christopher LaFarge (CEO & Chairman, MedicaMetrix).
Center Awards Grant to Expand MedTech IGNITE Program
The Center has awarded a $50,000 grant to MedTech IGNITE, a business-coaching program launched in 2007 by MassMEDIC, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council. The grant will allow the MedTech IGNITE Program to expand to new areas of Massachusetts, including the Pioneer Valley, Merrimack Valley, SouthCoast, and Worcester regions, and to help nurture more medical device entrepreneurs at the early stage of their companies’ development. Read the press release here >>
Avaxia Biologics Opens New Facility in Lexington
The Center joined with Avaxia Biologics, a development stage company focusing on oral antibody therapeutics that act locally within the gastrointestinal tract, to host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the company’s new office and lab space in Lexington. The company received $375,000 in early-stage loan financing through the Center’s Accelerator Program in 2010. Read the press release here >>
State Senator Kenneth Donnelly, State Representative Jay Kaufman, Avaxia Biologics founder & CEO Barbara Fox, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Vice President for Communications Angus McQuilken, and MassBio Director of Economic Development & Global Affairs Peter Abair officially open Avaxia’s new office and lab space in Lexington. Photo credit: Stanley Rowin, stanstudio.com
Progenika officially opens their new offices in Medford
Spain-based genotyping microarray producer Progenika has officially opened the company’s new US headquarters in Medford. The grand opening included a tour of the facility, with participation from President of the Basque region of Spain Patxi Lopez. Read the press release here >>
From left to right are Progenika, Inc. COO Ander Caballero, Bernabé Unda, Counsellor of Industry, Commerce, Tourism and Innovation for the Basque region of Spain, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, President of the Basque region of Spain Patxi Lopez, Progenika Co-CEO Antonio Martinez, MassBio Chief Business Officer Imran Nasrullah, Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Investment Associate Director Elizabeth Steele, and Begoña Gil, wife of President Lopez.
Cohen, Dagi and Roberts join the Center’s SAB
The Center has announced the addition of three new members to the organization’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB is chaired by Dr. Harvey F. Lodish, Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Professor of Biology and Professor of Bioengineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The three new members are Dalia Cohen, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Asterand, Inc., T. (Teo) Forcht Dagi, M.D., Partner at HML Venture Partners, and Carmichael Roberts, Ph.D. Partner of North Bridge Venture Partners.
Read the press release here >>
See a full listing of SAB members here >>
Izon opens new US Headquarters in Cambridge
New Zealand-based nanotechnology instrument manufacturer Izon Science recently announced the opening of the company’s U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts to further support their expanding client base in 23 countries. The new office is located at One Kendall Square in Cambridge. Read the press release here >>
See a video here >>
Izon CEO Hans van der Voorn, MassBio President & CEO Robert Coughlin, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment Executive Director Ken Brown, and ViThera Labs President Johannes Fruehauf participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of New-Zealand-based Izon’s new U.S. headquarters in Cambridge.
Life Sciences Center Begins Accepting Applications under Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership
The Center has begun accepting applications under a new international partnership with Israel, the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP). The joint solicitation seeks applications for funding for industrial Research & Development (R&D) collaborations between Massachusetts and Israeli companies. Learn more here >>
EarlySense announces plans to locate US
headquarters in Waltham
Governor Deval Patrick and EarlySense CEO Avner Halperin participate in demonstration of the EarlySense patient monitoring system
Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center joined officials from EarlySense and MetroWest Medical Center to launch the hospital’s new patient safety and quality initiative, leveraging innovative technology developed by EarlySense, Inc. The event marked the first commercial installation of the EarlySense patient monitoring system in Massachusetts. At the event EarlySense named Waltham, Massachusetts as the location of the Israel-based company’s new U.S. headquarters. Read the press release here >>
See WGBH Coverage here >>
Learn more about EarlySense here >>
Internship Challenge Participants Celebrate on the SouthCoast
UMass Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center highlighted the work of Massachusetts student interns and the companies they have been working with in the SouthCoast region this summer through the Center’s Internship Challenge Program. The Internship Challenge is a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts companies engaged in life sciences. Read the press release here >>
UMass Dartmouth showcased the work of the Center’s 2011 Internship Challenge summer interns that are based in the South Coast region. Interns from Boston Open Labs, Five Star Companies, Imgen BioSciences, NuOrtho Surgical, PharmaHealth Clinical Research Services, and Phosphorex presented at the event hosted by the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center (ATMC) in Fall River on Friday, August 19, 2011.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Barrett.
Benz and Caret join Center’s Board of Directors
Governor Deval Patrick has appointed Edward J. Benz, Jr., M.D., President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, to the Center’s Board of Directors. In addition, Robert Caret, Ph.D., the new President of the University of Massachusetts, has joined the board, assuming the seat previously held by outgoing UMass President Jack Wilson. Read the press release here >>
Pictures of Progress
Topping off ceremony for the Sherman Center at UMass
Medical School in Worcester
Ground breaking event for Vertex Pharmaceutical’s new
headquarters in South Boston
Ribbon cutting ceremony for InfraReDx’s newly expanded
clean room for coronary catheter manufacturing in Burlington
Ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of BioScale’s
new headquarters in Lexington
Center Opens Application Period for 2011 Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program
Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program. All applications are due by noon on October 7, 2011. The Program offers tax incentives to companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing in Massachusetts. The Life Sciences Initiative authorizes the Center to award up to $25 million in tax incentives each year.
For more information, or to apply, click here >>
Governor visits Ipsen Biomeasure in Milford
In July 2011, Governor Deval Patrick visited the facilities of Biomeasure, Ipsen’s US subsidiary focusing on research, development and manufacturing in Milford, Massachusetts. The Governor met with company leaders and discussed the role that the Life Sciences Initiative has played in advancing the company’s scientific research and product development. Ipsen Biomeasure was successful in applying jointly with Brigham & Women’s Hospital for one of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Cooperative Research Matching Grants in the program’s first round. Read the press release here >>
Dr. Jesse Dong (left), Vice President of Compound Discovery and Research at Ipsen Biomeasure, provides a tour of the company’s lab facilities to, from left to right, State Senator Richard Moore, Governor Deval Patrick, and State Representative John Fernandes.
Massachusetts Takes BIO 2011 by Storm
The 2011 Bio International Convention was a huge success for Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Pavilion experienced heavy traffic throughout the show, and the Pavilion hosted multiple announcements including the announcement of the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (“MIIP”), and a strategic alliance between Northern Ireland, Finland, and Massachusetts focused on tissue engineering. More than 30 business development meetings took place with international companies during our Global Connect sessions. The Massachusetts “Road to Revolution” Pavilion Reception, featuring Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas Menino and Senate President Therese Murray, was the best attended reception on the show floor. We ended the week with a surprise flash mob on Thursday to promote next year’s BIO International Convention in Boston!
Center opens new round of Accelerator Program applications
The Center has opened a summer 2011 round of the Accelerator Loan Program, with applications due by noon on August 5th. Click here to learn more >>
Center Announces the Expansion of
Internship Challenge Program
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray and the Center have announced an expansion of the Center's flagship workforce development program, the Internship Challenge. The formerly summer-only program will now be available to students year-round, starting in the Fall semester.
Read the press release here >>
Center Announces 2011 Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) Program Awards
The Center has awarded $2 million in Small Business Matching Grants to four life sciences companies. Each company will receive $500,000 from the Center that matches federal small business grant funding that the companies have been awarded previously. The grants represent the second round of awards issued under the Center's Small Business Matching Grant ("SBMG") Program. Read the press release here>>
Center Recognizes Recipients of Equipment & Supply Grants
From Left to Right: Matthew Morrissey, Executive Director, New Bedford Economic Development Council, Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School Superintendent Director Michael Shea, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, Rosanne Franco, Science Department Head, GNB Voc-Tech; Allen Duarte, Grants Liaison, GNB Voc-Tech; and Five Star Manufacturing President David Cabral, receive a legislative citation from State Representative Stephen Canessa recognizing the school’s success in receiving an equipment & supply grant of $99,994 from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for life sciences training and education.
DPS Biometics opens new headquarters in Framingham
From Left to Right: Bonnie Biocchi, President & CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce; Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister; Puja Mehta, aide to State Senator Karen Spilka; Managing Director of DPS Engineering Frank Keogh; State Representative Christopher Walsh (D-Framingham); and State Representative David Linsky (D-Natick) gather to celebrate the grand opening of DPS Biometic’s new offices in Framingham.
Center approves second round of Cooperative Research Matching Grants
The Center has awarded $1 million in cooperative research matching grants to support two innovative research collaborations between industry and Massachusetts’ world-class academic institutions. The Center’s Cooperative Research Matching Grant Program funds collaborations among scientists, academic institutions and industry that promise significant commercial potential and are scientifically meritorious. The grants will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the industry partners associated with each collaboration. Read the press release here >>
EarlySense Selects Massachusetts As Location For
U.S. Headquarters Following Governor Patrick’s Trade Mission to Israel
MetroWest Medical Center’s Framingham Campus will become the first facility in Massachusetts to commercially implement EarlySense’s contact-free patient monitoring system
Boston and Framingham, MA and Ramat Gan, Israel, April 14, 2011 --- EarlySense, Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced today that Israel-based EarlySense, developer of the EverOn contact-free patient monitoring system, has chosen to locate its U.S. headquarters in Massachusetts. Read more >>
Organogenesis, Life Sciences Center Break Ground on World’s Largest Automated Living Cell Manufacturing Plant
The Center joined Organogenesis, Inc. President & CEO Geoff MacKay and employees to celebrate the start of construction of the company’s new manufacturing facility. Upon completion in 2013, the company expects the facility to be the world’s largest automated living cell manufacturing plant. The expansion is taking place with financial support from the Center. Read the press release here >>
Organogenesis President & CEO Geoff MacKay, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister and State Senator Brian Joyce kick off construction of the company’s new manufacturing facility in Canton.
Center Approves Third Round of Accelerator Program Loans for Early-Stage Companies
The Center has announced a third round of loans under the Accelerator Program for early-stage companies. The Center’s Accelerator Program provides loans of up to $750,000 to promising early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development. In the most recent round the Center’s Board of Directors has approved $3.75 million in loans to five early-stage life sciences companies. Read the press release here >>
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray and State Representative Carolyn Dykema celebrate the completion of Lonza Biologic’s expansion of their manufacturing facilities in Hopkinton. Two state grants were awarded for the project totaling $2.7 million. Through the expansion Lonza has added 128 new jobs.
UMass Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry Inks Strategic Partnership with UK Stem Cell Bank
As part of Governor Patrick’s Innovation Economy Partnership Mission 2011, global leaders in the field of stem cell banking and characterization, the University of Massachusetts Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry and the United Kingdom Stem Cell Bank, signed an agreement to share best practices for stem cell banking and to collaborate on standards for stem cell line characterization, production and distribution in the US and UK. Read the press release here.
Governor Deval Patrick, Dr. Windham-Bannister and UMass President-elect Robert Caret witness the signing of an agreement between the University of Massachusetts Stem Cell Bank & Registry and the UK Stem Cell Bank. (Photo credit: Kim Haberlin, EOHED)
Banafsheh Salamat, head of the Science Department at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, after receiving a shipment of lab equipment and supplies from Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Vertex matched with an in-kind contribution the Center’s recently announced Equipment and Supply Grant for LVTI. The Center awarded LVTI a grant of $202,434 in February, 2011 through the new Equipment and Supplies Program for Skills Training and Education.
Center Announces Open Solicitation for Capital Projects
The Center has launched an open solicitation for life-sciences related capital projects for a period of three years beginning in Fiscal Year 2013. The Center will invest in high-potential economic development projects that promise to create jobs and make a significant contribution to the state’s life sciences ecosystem. Learn more or apply here >>
Center Announces First Round of Equipment and Supply
Matching Grants
The Center has announced the first round of grants through its new Equipment and Supplies Program for Skills Training and Education, which provides funding for the purchase of equipment at vocational technical schools, community colleges and workforce training organizations in Massachusetts. The program will provide grants totaling more than $3.4 million to 32 schools and organizations to support STEM education across the state. Please read the press release here >>
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| President of parent company Merck KGaA Dr. Stefan Oschmann, Governor Deval Patrick, and Dr. Fereydoun Firouz, President and CEO of EMD Serono Inc. at the grand opening of EMD Serono's new research facility in Billerica. | Dr. Bruce Jackson, Coordinator of Biotechnology Programs at Mass Bay Community College, with President Obama prior to receiving a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. |
Center to Join Trade Mission to Israel and the UK
Governor Deval Patrick has announced that Massachusetts business executives and economic development officials will take part in the Massachusetts Innovation Economy Partnership Mission 2011 to Israel and the United Kingdom in March. The coalition will explore growth opportunities within the Commonwealth’s innovation-based industries - technology, life sciences, and clean energy. Life sciences companies participating in the trip include Organogenesis and Cubist. Read the press release here >>
Governor Patrick is joined by Sir Nigel Sheinwald, British Ambassador to the United States, Shai Bazak, Consul General of Israel to New England, and Phil Budden, British Consul General to New England, state economic development officials and industry leaders to announce the Massachusetts Innovation Economy Partnership Mission 2011 to Israel and the United Kingdom.
Center Announces 2011 Internship Challenge Program
The Center has begun accepting applications for the Internship Challenge Program for the summer of 2011, the third year of a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts life sciences companies. The program will provide paid internship opportunities at life sciences companies for up to 170 students and recent college graduates who are considering career opportunities in the life sciences.
| Learn more here >> | Read the press release >> |
Center Launches Second Year of Small Business
Matching Grant Program
The application period for the second year of the Center’s Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) Program will open on Wednesday, January 5th. The Program provides grant funding to match federal small business grants for early-stage life sciences companies in Massachusetts. $3 million will be made available for the program in this round. Applications are due by 1:00 p.m. on February 14, 2011. Click here for more information or to apply >>
2010
Center authorizes 2010 round of tax incentives
The Life Sciences Center Board of Directors has authorized $23.9 million in 2010 tax incentives to encourage job growth at 30 life sciences companies. The companies have collectively committed to creating nearly 1000 new jobs during calendar year 2011. Read the press release here >>
ALERT: Equipment & Supplies
Matching Grant Program Amended!
Awards of up to $100,000 will no longer require an industry match
Application deadline extended to January 21, 2011
The Center’s new Equipment and Supplies Matching Grant Program, previously announced in October, seeks to further the development of life sciences training and education by awarding funding, for the purpose of purchasing equipment and supplies, to vocational technical high schools, community colleges, and workforce training organizations in Massachusetts.
Center joins Mayor Menino to welcome four new life sciences companies to Boston
The Life Sciences Center recently joined with Mayor Thomas Menino and officials from the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s LifeTech Initiative to welcome UK-based EvaluatePharma and three other life sciences companies to Boston. Read the press release here >>
Life Sciences Center Vice President for Communications Angus McQuilken (fifth from left) joins with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, officials from the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s LifeTech Initiative, and executives from EvaluatePharma at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the company and three others to Boston.
Center launches new round of Cooperative
Research Matching Grant Program
The Center has launched a second round of the Cooperative Research Matching Grant Program. Cooperative Research Matching Grants facilitate collaboration between Massachusetts industry leaders and research institutions in order to promote scientific discoveries and inventions that lead to beneficial medical applications. In 2008, the Center awarded $3.76 million over a three-year period, creating a total of $7.52 million for cooperative research. Applications for the new round are due by noon on January 28, 2011. Click here to learn more >>
Center Celebrates Opening of Biotech
InnoVenture Center in Beverly
North Shore InnoVentures has announced the official opening of their new Biotech InnoVenture Center (BIVC) at 100 Cummings Center Beverly, Massachusetts. The new facility, which will provide incubator space for early-stage life sciences companies, was able to open through a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Read the press
release here >>
Federal, state and local officials gathered on Thursday to celebrate the opening of the new Biotech InnoVenture Center at 100 Cummings Center in Beverly. The new facility, funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, will provide incubator space for early-stage life sciences companies. Pictured from left to right are Harry McCoy, President & CEO of Thorne Diagnostics and Chairman of North Shore InnoVentures, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, State Representative Mary Grant, North Shore InnoVentures President Martha Farmer, Congressman John Tierney, and Beverly Mayor William Scanlon.
InVivo Therapeutics is Second Company to Repay Accelerator Loan
InVivo Therapeutics has become the second company to repay one of the Center’s Accelerator loans for early-stage companies. Read the press
release here >>
French Biotech Company IntegraGen to Open U.S. Subsidiary in Massachusetts
IntegraGen, Inc., a French biotechnology company dedicated to gene discovery and the development of molecular diagnostic products and services, has announced that it is expanding its operations by opening a U.S. subsidiary headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Announces Fall 2010 Life Sciences Accelerator Program
The Center has launched the Fall 2010 round of the Accelerator Loan Program, the Center’s flagship investment program that provides working capital to early-stage life sciences companies. The Center began accepting online applications on Friday, October 8, 2010 with an application deadline of Noon on Monday, November 29, 2010. Learn more here >>
Center opens applications for equipment matching grant program
Program will fund lab equipment for life sciences job training at Massachusetts vocational schools, community colleges and workforce training programs
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has opened applications for a new Equipment and Supplies Program for Skills Training and Education that will match industry partner funding for the purchase of lab equipment at vocational technical schools, community colleges and workforce training organizations in Massachusetts. Learn more >>
Governor Patrick, Life Sciences Center Celebrate Opening of Organogenesis’ New Headquarters In Canton
Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister joined state and local officials, Organogenesis, Inc. CEO Geoff MacKay and employees recently to celebrate the completion of the company's new headquarters building at 85 Dan Road in Canton. Read the press release here >>
State Representative Bill Galvin, Chairman of the Canton Board of Selectman Victor Del Vecchio, State Senator Brian Joyce, Organogenesis CEO Geoff MacKay, Governor Deval Patrick and President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Susan Windham-Banister join the Organogenesis team to cut a ribbon at the company’s new headquarters building in Canton.
Three members added to Center’s Scientific Advisory Board
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has announced the addition of three new members to the organization’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), bringing the Board’s total membership to 17. Read the press release here >>
Good Start Genetics is First to Repay Accelerator Loan
Good Start Genetics recently completed an $18 million Series A financing and is the first company to repay one of the Center’s Accelerator loans. In May, 2009 Good Start Genetics was awarded a loan of $500,000 from the Center in the first round of a program that provides working capital to early-stage life sciences companies. The loan has been repaid in full, with interest. Read the press release here >>
Life Science Center Celebrates Cubist
Expansion with Governor Patrick
Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister recently joined company employees and local officials at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Lexington to highlight the company's expansion in Massachusetts. The company's "Raising the Roof" ceremony marked the beginning of a construction project that will add an additional 104,000 square feet of lab and associated administrative space to Cubist's existing lab facility by early 2012. Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Life Science Center President & CEO Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister celebrates the expansion of Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. by signing an I-Beam that will be used in the construction project, along with (from left) Cubist President & CEO Mike Bonney, Cubist COO Robert Perez and Governor Deval Patrick
Marine Biological Laboratory Receives $3.4 Million to Establish
National Resource for Study of Regeneration
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole has received a 5-year, $3.4 million grant to establish a national resource for the aquatic frog known as Xenopus, a major model organism used in regenerative biology research. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded a $10 million grant to support the recently completed renovation of the Loeb Laboratory at MBL, which will house the new Xenopus Center. Read the press release here >>
The South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) can regenerate the lens of its eye, a process that could one day be replicated in humans. Credit: Barbara Harmon.
Center Celebrates Opening of Nuclea Biotechnologies’
Genomics Center in Pittsfield
The Center recently joined Nuclea Biotechnologies, MassBio, and local officials to celebrate the grand opening of Nuclea’s new Genomics Center in Pittsfield. Read the press release here >>
Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister speaks at the grand opening of Nuclea Biotechnologies’ Genomics Center in Pittsfield. Behind her from left to right are Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto, State Senator Benjamin B. Downing, Peter Abair, Director of Economic Development at MassBio, and Patrick J. Muraca, President and CEO of Nuclea Biotechnologies.
Celniker appointed to Center’s Board of Directors
Abbie Celniker, Ph.D., CEO of Cambridge-based Taligen Therapeutics, has been appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Read the press release here >>
Center celebrates completion of Loeb Laboratory
renovations at MBL
The Center is celebrating completion of a $25 million renovation of the Loeb Laboratory, the Marine Biological Laboratory’s central research training facility, and the establishment of the new Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering. The renovation, funded by a $10 million grant from the Center that leveraged a $15 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), has transformed Loeb into a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a national resource for science training and discovery. Read the press release here >>
Cutting the ribbon at the newly renovated Loeb Laboratory Building are, from left to right, MBL Board Chair John Rowe, MBL Director & CEO Gary Borisy, MBL Catalyst Campaign lead campaign donor Millicent Bell, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, United States Senator John Kerry, State Senator Robert O’Leary, Congressman William Delahunt, and State Representative Timothy Madden.
Internship Challenge Matches 164 Interns
with 93 Life Sciences Companies
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s 2010 Internship Challenge has received an overwhelming response since its February launch, with nearly 900 applicants seeking internships this summer. Through the Challenge, 164 interns have been matched with 93 life sciences companies, a more than 50% increase from the 104 interns selected in 2009. Participation comes from academic institutions and companies across the state. Read the press release here >>
Life Sciences Center Board Approves 2010 Accelerator Program Loans for Early Stage Companies
Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, congratulations Dustin Armstrong, VP and Head of Research for 4s3 Bioscience, after the company was awarded an Accelerator loan by the Center’s Board of Directors.
In June of 2010 the Center awarded $2.48 million in loans to four early-stage life sciences companies. The Center’s 2010 Accelerator Program provides loans of up to $750,000 to early-stage companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing. Four companies were authorized to receive loans out of thirty-nine applications that were submitted to the Center and competitively peer-reviewed. A second round of the Program is scheduled for the Fall of 2010.
Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Provides $50,000 Grant to Support Life Sciences Collaborative’s Biomanufacturing Initiative
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is providing a $50,000 grant to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative to support an initiative aimed at strengthening the state’s biomanufacturing sector through a Massachusetts Biomanufacturing Roundtable and the development of a comprehensive Biomanufacturing action agenda during the 2010 calendar year. Read the press release here >>
Governor Patrick, Life Sciences Center, MassBio and MassMEDIC urge Massachusetts companies to apply for new federal tax credit
On June 17th, 2010 Governor Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, MassBio and MassMEDIC issued a joint press release calling on Massachusetts companies to apply for the newly established $1 billion Federal Therapeutic Tax Credit Program. The application period opens on June 21 and closes on July 21, 2010. For more information or to read the press release, click here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Supports MIT $100K
Life Sciences Track and Winner Aukera Therapeutics
Aukera Therapeutics has been named the 2010 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition Life Sciences Track Winner. Aukera also won the Audience Choice Award, based on voting by the 1,000 attendees at the Competition’s finale. The company will receive $30,000 in start-up funding from the competition. Aukera Therapeutics is developing a novel protein therapy to treat ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center contributed $10,000 to support the life sciences track. Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Announces 2010 Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) Program Awards
Center Awards $1.5 million to foster job growth and technology commercialization in the Massachusetts Life Sciences Supercluster
Waltham, MA (May 28, 2010) – The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Board of Directors today awarded $1.5 million in Small Business Matching Grants to three life sciences companies in Massachusetts. Read more >>
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister congratulates Thermedical President Michael Curley after his company was selected to receive a Small Business Matching Grant from the Center.
Shire opens new manufacturing facility in Lexington
Shire held a grand opening for their new Atlas Manufacturing Facility in Lexington on May 26, 2010. The Center awarded Shire $6.2 million in tax incentives last year to encourage their continued growth in Lexington. The company plans to invest $460 million over the next eight years and plans to hire 750 full-time employees in Lexington as they expand their Human Genetic Therapies division.
From left to right are Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, Shire Human Genetic Therapies President Sylvie Grégoire, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory Bialecki, and Shire CEO Angus Russell.
Center Announces Investment Partnership
with sanofi-aventis
At Bio 2010 in Chicago the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and sanofi-aventis announced a new investment partnership, with the company joining the Center's Corporate Consortium Program. Sanofi-aventis will contribute $500,000 over two years to support the Center's investment activities. Read the press release here. Read the press release >>
Pictured from left to right are Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, sanofi-aventis Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Chew, House Ways & Means Chairman Charles Murphy, MOITI Executive Director Ted Carr, and MassBio President Robert Coughlin as they announce a new investment partnership at Bio 2010 in Chicago.
Center Launches 2010 Tax Incentive Program
Life Sciences leaders tour the manufacturing space at Morgan Advanced Ceramics in New Bedford, a recipient of a 2009 award from the Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program. The company received tax incentives totaling $570,000, and in exchange committed to creating nineteen new jobs in 2010 as part of a 25,000 square foot expansion. Pictured from left to right are MassBio President Robert Coughlin, Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, Buddy Rocha from the Massachusetts Office on Business Development, and Morgan Advanced Ceramics Vice President & General Manager Brian Roznoy.
The Center has begun accepting applications for the 2010 Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program. The application period opened on May 3, and applications are due July 2 at 12 pm. For more information about the program, or to access the online application, click here >>
Center welcomes NeoStem to Cambridge
NeoStem, an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, recently launched the company¡¯s new R&D and adult stem cell collection facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Company officials were joined at the ribbon cutting ceremony by Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, and MassBio President Bob Coughlin. Read more >>
Pictured from left to right are Wayne Marasco, M.D., Chairman of NeoStem¡¯s Scientific Advisory Board, Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, NeoStem Chairman & CEO Dr. Robin Smith, Cambridge City Councilor Sam Seidel, and MassBio President & CEO Robert Coughlin.
Center Launches 2010 Accelerator Program
for Early-stage Companies
The Life Sciences Center has launched the 2010 Accelerator Loan Program, the second year of the Center¡¯s flagship investment program that provides working capital to early-stage life sciences companies. The Center will begin accepting online applications on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 with an application deadline of Wednesday, March 24, 2010. To learn more or to apply, click here >>
Center approves $6.6 million grant for
Gateway Park project in Worcester
February 24, 2010 - The Life Sciences Center has awarded a $6.6 million grant to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to support the next phase of life sciences development at Gateway Park in Worcester. The grant leverages $25 million in private investment for the development of a new 80,000-square-foot life sciences facility anticipated to create 120 construction jobs and 142 new permanent jobs at completion. Read the press release here >>
Roxbury Community College President Dr. Terry Gomes and Life Sciences Center President & CEO Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister prepare to cut the ribbon, officially opening the college¡¯s new Biotechnology Laboratory.
Ribbon Cutting at Roxbury Community College
Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister recently cut the ribbon at Roxbury Community College¡¯s new biotechnology laboratory. The new facility will provide biotechnology and biomanufacturing students with valuable lab skills in the life sciences. The college has two programs in biotechnology including a two year Associate of Science degree and a one year Certificate degree. Students will also gain experience through external internships in biotechnology and the life sciences. There are 32 students enrolled in the college¡¯s Biotechnology Programs, with six students slated to graduate in May 2010.
Center Launches Small Business
Matching Grant Program
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has launched a new Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) program that will match federal small business grant funding for early-stage life sciences companies in Massachusetts. The Center began accepting on-line applications for the new program on Monday, February 1, 2010. Learn more here >>
Center launches 2010 Internship Challenge
Matt Gethers, 2009 Life Sciences Internship Challenge participant and recent MIT graduate with a degree in biological engineering, at the brand-new lab space of Ginkgo BioWorks in Boston. Photo courtesy of Bay State Banner/Sandra Larson
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is pleased to announce the launch of the 2010 Life Sciences Internship Challenge, the second year of a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts life sciences companies and research institutions. The program will provide summer 2010 internships for up to 150 students or recent graduates who are considering career opportunities in the life sciences. Learn more here >>
Life Sciences Center Awards $25 million in tax incentives
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Board of Directors has awarded $25 million in Tax Incentives to twenty-eight life sciences companies. The companies receiving tax incentive awards have committed to creating a combined 918 new jobs in the Commonwealth over the coming year. Read the press release >>
Life Sciences Center Welcomes Two International Companies to Massachusetts
CYTOO Cell Architects, a French biotechnology company focused on applications in cell based assays, recently opened their U.S. subsidiary, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. Read the press release here>>
Center welcomes Systagenix to Quincy
Systagenix Wound Management, a leading medical device company that specializes in cutting-edge chronic wound care solutions, is expanding its operations by opening a North, Central, and South American Headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. Read the press release here>>
Center's Investment Leverages
Federal Grant Funding for MBL
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) $802,500 in federal stimulus funds to support the recruitment of scientists specializing in regenerative biology, along with a second grant providing $557,000 for the Laboratory¡¯s intensive Frontiers in Stem Cells and Regeneration training course. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray visited MBL to participate in the grant announcements. Read the press release>>
Pictured from left to right are Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, MBL Director and CEO Gary Borisy, State Senator Robert O'Leary, and MBL Associate Scientist Alan Kuzirian on a tour of MBL's Marine Resources Center.
Working with leaders in other states
Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister participated recently in a panel discussion before the Executive Committee of the National Lieutenant Governor's Association. The panel, moderated by Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, also included MassBio President & CEO Bob Coughlin, and UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael Collins. Pictured at right are Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter of Arkansas, and Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge of Iowa.
Center Approves $7.7 Million Grant for Phase II of Framingham Economic Development Project
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Board of Directors has approved a $7.7 million grant to the Town of Framingham for Phase II of a wastewater management project. The project will facilitate the contruction of a Genzyme biomanufacturing facility in the Framingham technology park. The Genzyme facility will create more than 300 new jobs, and the Genzyme and wastewater projects combined will create 165 jobs in construction.
Read the press release here>>
Above: Work crews lower the first piece of the new Framingham
wastewater pumping station into the ground.
Below: Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray visits the construction site on a recent visit to Framingham.
Biocell Center Opens North American
Headquarters in Medford
Biocell Center, a European biotechnology company that is the only firm in the world to harvest and preserve amniotic stem cells, opened its North American headquarters and laboratory in Medford, Massachusetts on October 22, 2009. The company has other facilities in Italy and Switzerland. Read the press release >>
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| Biocell Center and Massachusetts state officials at the opening of Biocell Center¡¯s North American headquarters. Pictured left to right are Marco Reguzzoni, Chairman of Biocell Center, Senator Pat Jehlen, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, Governor Deval Patrick, Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, MassBio President & CEO Bob Coughlin, and Kate Torchilin, CEO of Biocell Center. |
Mass General Hospital scientist receives Nobel Prize
Bio Convention to return to Boston in 2012
Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Executive Director Jim Rooney, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, and Massachusetts Biotechnology Council President Robert Coughlin joined together on September 28, 2009 to announce that Bio International, the world's largest life sciences trade show, will return to Boston in 2012.
Read the press release here >>
Center to provide $90 million in capital funding for Sherman Center Project at UMass Medical
Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center have announced the approval of $90 million in capital funding toward the construction of the $405 million Albert Sherman Center Project at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). A key targeted investment in the Life Science Act, the facility will further bolster the pioneering life sciences research and medical education taking place at UMass Medical School in Worcester.
Read the press release here >>
The groundbreaking for the Sherman Center project at UMass Medical Center was held on September 17th, 2009.
MBL breaks ground on Loeb Laboratory renovations
Senate President Therese Murray, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and key state officials gathered recently at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) to break ground on a $25 million renovation of the MBL's central research training facility, the Loeb Laboratory. This renovation will create 250 regional construction jobs over the next 15 months and will greatly enhance the MBL's and the state's ability to attract and retain top scientists. The Center is providing a $10 million grant toward the costs of the renovation project.
Read the press release here >>
The groundbreaking for the Loeb Laboratory renovations at MBL was held on September 21st, 2009.
Two Accelerator companies receive FDA approval on medical devices
Two of the Center's seven Accelerator portfolio companies recently received FDA approval for innovative medical technologies. Wadsworth Technologies announced in September, 2009 that their DermaLOC wound closure system had been approved by the FDA. Pluromed announced shortly thereafter that they had received FDA approval for BackStop, a device used in ureteroscopic kidney stone management procedures.
Read the Wadsworth press release here >>
Read the Pluromed press release here >>
Center Co-sponsors Stem Cell Symposium
Life Sciences Internship Challenge Receives Extraordinary Response
The Center's Life Sciences Internship Challenge has received an overwhelming response since its February launch, with more than 500 applicants looking for internships this summer. Through the Challenge, 104 interns have been matched with 59 life sciences companies and research institutions.
Read the press release >>
See a YouTube video about the kick-off event for this program >>
MLSC Life Sciences Internship Challenge participants Lindsay Bonvini, a rising senior at Stonehill College, and Michasel White, a student at UMass Dartmouth, participate in a recent forum co-sponsored by the Center and Citizen Schools to plan new ways to enhance STEM education at the middle-school level. Bonvini and White are interning this summer at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center.
Second Round of New Investigator Grants Completed
The Center has completed its second round of New Investigator Matching Grants by awarding $600,000 to three Harvard-affiliated researchers. Read the press release >>
On July 21, 2009, The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and Lasell College held a luncheon to discuss workforce development in the life sciences industry and how Lasell College can expand its curriculum to prepare students for employment opportunities in Massachusetts' life sciences Supercluster. Pictured here from left to right are Angus McQuilken, Vice President for Communications at the Massachusetts Life Schiences Center, Beth Nicklas, Esq., the Center's Vice President and Counsel for Academic Research and Programs, Michael Alexander, President of Lasell College and Paul Perkins, Sr. Director of Finance and Human Resources at EyeGate Pharma.
UMass receives grant to establish Professional Science Masters Degree programs
Congratulations to the University of Massachusetts on being awarded a $124,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to create 10 life sciences Professional Science Masters Degree programs. The initiative will span all five campuses and multiple academic concentrations. The need for such programs was a key finding of the Life Sciences Talent Initiative (LSTI) study that the Center co-sponsored last year. Read the press release >>
View the LSTI report >>
Center awards $1.4 million in New Investigator Grants
On June 24, 2009, The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Board of Directors awarded $1,380,256 in New Investigator Grants. The Center¡¯s grants will support seven young scientists working at research institutions in Massachusetts. Read the press release >>
Center to continue funding
International Stem Cell Registry
On June 24, 2009, The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Board of Directors approved $695,000 in continued funding for the International Stem Cell Registry. The Registry is a comprehensive database of current information on stem cells managed by the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
Read the Press Release >>
Learn more about the ISCR here >>
Happy Anniversary!
June 16, 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of Governor Deval Patrick¡¯s signing of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative. During the Initiative's first year, the Life Sciences Center has invested $46 million in state funding, leveraging $357 million in private and federal investment, and helping to create a prospective 950 jobs.
Center submits comments regarding NIH Draft Guidelines on Stem Cell Research
First Round of Accelerator Loans Approved
The Center's Board of Directors has approved the first round of loans to early-stage companies via the Accelerator program. Read the press release here >>
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council Releases Bioready Campaign Community Ratings
Read the announcement
Learn more about the MBC BioReady Communities Campaign
New Medical Devices Journal
Launches with Feature on MLSC
An interview with MLSC President & CEO Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister is featured in the inaugural edition of the Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal. The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is a new online publication covering the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England. Click here to read the interview >>
The Life Sciences Center has moved!
To find our new address in Waltham, our new phone number, or directions, click here.
MLSC President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, State Senator Karen Spilka, Senate Chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, and State Representative Carolyn Dykema on a recent company visit to Caliper Life Sciences in Hopkinton.
Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
Learn more about Governor Deval Patrick's plans for investing federal stimulus funds to strengthen our infrastructure and our innovation economy in the Commonwealth.
Visit the Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Plan web site. You can also access the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act web site here.
MLSC Board Approves Grant for Tufts' New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory
On March 25, 2009 the MLSC Board of Directors approved a $9.5 million grant to support completion of the New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton. Read the press release >>
MLSC Accelerator Program Receives Strong Response
The MLSC has received eighty-eight applications for the Center's Accelerator loan program for early-stage companies. The first round of applications began on January 1, 2009 and closed on March 6, 2009. Click here to read the press release. Read the press release >>
MLSC President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister joins Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at a recent meeting of the Lifetech Boston Advisory Committee
MLSC Board Approves Life
Sciences Internship Challenge
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has launched the Life Sciences Internship Challenge, a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for life sciences companies and research institutions in Massachusetts. The new program will provide Summer 2009 internships to at least 100 undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors who are considering career opportunities in life sciences - in either an industry or academic setting.
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council recently sponsored a UMass Lowell "Take the Initiative" forum to help companies and higher education institutions learn how to access funds available under the state's $1 billion Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, signed into law by Governor Patrick last June. Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, left, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, center, and Massachusetts Biotechnology Council Vice President John Heffernan were among the speakers.
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative
Announced by Governor Deval Patrick at BIO 2007Boston, Massachusetts
At the BIO 2007 convention on May 8, Governor Patrick announced his plan to make Massachusetts the global leader in life sciences, unveiling for the first time a comprehensive, collaborative Massachusetts Life Sciences Strategy.
