Overseeing a ten-year, $1 billion state-funded initiative to develop the life science sector and support promising startups, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) has looked to the Japanese as it consolidates the state’s reputation around the world for excellence and innovation in the industry.
“Our success stories from Japan have mostly been with Japanese acquisitions of life sciences companies in Massachusetts, such as Sunovion, Millennium and Boston Biomedical, or with Japanese life sciences companies choosing to locate their U.S. offices here. That’s been the model to date. In going forward, I think there will be some interesting additional opportunities for collaboration with Japan,” CEO Travis McCready said.
“In the foreseeable future, the key to success the for the state, the ecosystem, and large pharmaceuticals is a robust environment of start-up activity. The first priority is to ensure that we have the program, the capital and the systems in place. We plan on continuing to fund startup companies on their commercialization trajectory,” he added.
McCready also attributes MLSC’s success to its Scientific Advisory Board, which consists of globally renowned scientists and academicians, as well as to its location. The state hosts 15 of the world’s 20 largest pharmaceutical and biotech research companies.
In 2014, MLSC launched the Universal Partnerships Program, which gives companies in Massachusetts financial grants to help them collaborate with foreign organizations in research and development.
Created under the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act of 2008, MLSC’s mandate also includes creating jobs in biotech, pharmaceuticals, medicine, diagnostics and bioinformatics.
