This post was originally published by MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell on LinkedIn:
Today, MassBio brought 10 biotech CEOs to the State House for the Massachusetts Life Science Caucus. We were there to tell the real story of biotech. Companies of 10, 20, 30 people with no commercial product and no revenue. Just extraordinary science, passionate teams, and patients counting on them to succeed. 80% of MassBio’s 1,700 members fit that description.
Jason Cole, CEO of Zag Bio, and Parastoo Khoshakhlagh, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of GC Therapeutics, pulled back the curtain on what it actually means to build a biotech company: the years of risk, the capital required, the clinical failures that still move the field forward, and the relentless, patient-first optimism that keeps you going. Jason talked about shutting down a company after toxicity ended a promising rare eye disease trial. $200 million raised. 60 people whose jobs ended. And still coming back to do it again. Parastoo, who came to Boston from Iran to pursue a dream of turning science into medicine, described what it’s like to get a message from her cousin who is still waiting for the therapy she’s working to build. That is the weight these CEOs carry.
These are not hypothetical risks. Early-stage biotechs are navigating a funding environment that has tightened considerably, while federal policy uncertainty around NIH and the FDA adds pressure from every direction. And the talent that builds these companies is being actively recruited away by other U.S. clusters, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Massachusetts cannot take its position for granted.
Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan and Senator Sal DiDomenico, the co-chairs of the Caucus, spoke with genuine passion about why this industry matters. Sal, who lost his mother to ALS and has watched his wife navigate a lifetime of diabetes, said it plainly: this is not about money. These are people. Hogan also paid tribute to the late Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, the previous Caucus co-chair.
After the Caucus, we were grateful to sit down with Chairman John Lawn, Senator DiDomenico, and Rep. Fiola’s staff for direct conversations about what early-stage companies need from the Commonwealth right now: state support mechanisms that meet this moment, a posture on China competitiveness that is clear-eyed and aggressive, and a Massachusetts that sends an unmistakable signal that we are fighting to keep our talent, companies, and innovation.
Thank you to the Life Sciences Caucus for creating this space. Thank you to our partners at Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and Life Science Cares Boston for being with us. Thank you to Jason, Parastoo, and all the CEOs who gave their time and their stories. And thank you to the legislators and staff who showed up and listened.
This is why we keep going.
