The following are excerpts from an op-ed by MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell published in Banker & Tradesman on September 29, 2024:
When we began compiling data for our annual “Industry Snapshot” report this summer, we knew last year was a challenging one for many in the biopharma industry. But we also knew we’d see signs of Massachusetts’ trademark resiliency in the data.
Sure enough, though industry layoffs got a lot of headlines in 2023, we still saw a net gain of 3,000 jobs.
But despite those promising indicators, critical questions remain. Are private biotechs getting the funding they need to keep the lights on and move their science forward? And how do we support our ecosystem to ensure Massachusetts remains a world-renowned leader?
The first half of 2024 showed promise, though venture capital funding ended up as one of the lowest six-month totals in years. Just two Massachusetts companies went public. And new lab space was coming online without tenants. What looked like positive momentum in January had seemingly stalled by mid-year.
Then came the summer, when you’d expect only fireworks to be lighting up the night sky. Big venture capital deals started piling up. As I’m writing this, third-quarter VC funding has already surpassed both the first- and second-quarter totals.
Two more Bay State biotechs have hit the NASDAQ. Federal employment data shows another net positive quarter for local biopharma jobs. And the Fed is about to cut rates.
With the prospect of a newly minted Life Sciences Initiative and an administration keen to chase down federal dollars, Massachusetts would be in a position to contribute to this manufacturing renaissance. We know companies want to use American contract research and manufacturing organizations. We also know that communities outside Route 495 are eager to host these facilities, and their residents are well-positioned to fill the jobs needed with some targeted skills training.
These are interesting and, in some ways, unprecedented times for the life sciences, but in an industry accustomed to many failures on the way to incredible wins for patients, we can always see opportunities in short-term setbacks. Homegrown biotechs continue to break new ground in labs across the Commonwealth in the newest and most promising modalities. With support from our state and federal partners, who’s to say their future drugs can’t be “Made in Massachusetts”?