Letter from the President

Robert Coughlin

Welcome to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council's redesigned website.

This new website is the latest step in our ongoing efforts to move the industry forward and enable innovation. It is a place for connection. Here, you can read the industry's latest news, find out about crucial upcoming events and learn about the public policy issues that will have a tremendous impact on the sector.

This enables members to more easily get involved with the industry, raising their profile and reaching out to potential collaborators, employees, customers and investors. It will foster a united community that can make each individual better.

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council is a strong voice for the state's Life Science Supercluster and growing even stronger.

As we move ahead, we are building on a sturdy foundation of accomplishments. Our membership grew 8 percent last year, bringing us to an all time high of 575 members from all facets of the sector including biotechnology companies, health care providers, universities and allied businesses.

We recently launched a new service to help companies locate and expand in Massachusetts. We offer consulting services helping companies navigate complex regulations and find appropriate state funding sources while providing them with essential industry data. This new program helped attract $437 million in new investment to Massachusetts along with 922 projected new jobs.

We will expand on those efforts with the BioReady Community Campaign, enabling every interested Massachusetts community to be a host of biotechnology facilities. We will also introduce MBC Ambassadors, engaging volunteer, senior-level executives of MBC members to help recruit prospect companies.

We will continue to look for ways to bring the community together. For members, we offer committee forums that address current issues, enabling members to network and learn from each other. Last year, we hosted 6,800 member company employees at 115 committee forums.

We have a full roster of events for this year to raise the profile of the industry while meeting the needs of our members. We will be testing new concepts such as an issues-oriented Town Hall series on key topics. We will also be in San Diego in June for BIO 2008. We will take the lead in developing the Massachusetts convention hall foot print.

As we move ahead, you will find the information you need about these events, our public policy initiatives and our industry advances on our new website.

As president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, I look forward to working with you and bringing you the highest level of service possible.

Sincerely,

Robert K. Coughlin President

Also see Mike Webb's Letter from the Chairman or learn more About the MBC.