The following is an excerpt from a story published in print and online by the Boston Herald on April 25, 2024:
Even in uncertain economic times, there is a difference between spending and investment, according to the governor.
Gov. Maura Healey used an appearance before the state’s collected biotechnology thought leaders and entrepreneurs to tout her administration’s plan to reauthorize another 10 years for the Life Science Initiative, a soon-to-expire investment into one of the world’s fastest growing industries.
Speaking before the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council at a “State of the Possible Conference” held in Cambridge on Wednesday, Healey said that investment into biotechnology has paid off big time for the commonwealth, representing one of the “greatest economic policy success examples that we have ever seen,” resulting in $6 billion in private investments, and creating an economic ecosystem that is “envy of the world.”
“I’m so proud of the fact that Massachusetts is the global epicenter for life sciences — it is!” Healey said. “Our job, our responsibility, our commitment to all of you, is to ensure that we remain the global epicenter.”
Filed this February, Healey’s “Mass Leads Act” would fund the Life Science Initiative originally signed into law by former Gov. Deval Patrick past its current expiration date of June 30, 2025 to the tune of $1 billion dollars.
According to the governor, the new version of the initiative won’t just support research at big tech firms, but start ups and “those hungry founders and entrepreneurs” struggling to pay rent and make payroll.