Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s administration is working with the legislature and a coalition of industry leaders to plan the next reauthorization of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, she announced on June 6 at the 2023 Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention.
The current initiative—which funds life sciences infrastructure and research and provides key tax credits to the industry—expires in 2025. The biotech sector in Boston and across the state has been eagerly awaiting the announcement of its reauthorization.
“Fifteen years ago, our state government created a groundbreaking, new model for public-private partnership, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative. Across bipartisan administrations, through ups and downs in the global economy, we have been committed to this partnership,” she told the packed main ballroom of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. “And we will remain committed to this partnership, because it’s rooted in our state’s identity, and it has advanced both our scientific leadership and our economic competitiveness.”
Gov. Healey announces MassTalent, Pathmaker
Kicking off day two of the week-long event in Boston, she also announced two new workforce initiatives:
- MassTalent, “a one-stop front door for companies to access multiple talent pipelines in high-growth industries like the life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.” The state has $50 million available to fund programs like this one, she said.
- Pathmaker, an initiative to support training in life sciences, funded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Pathmaker aims to create 8- to 10-week training programs, free and accessible for students and adults with a high school education and no previous experience.
“We’re the global epicenter for life sciences—and we really want to grow,” Governor Healey told Bio.News in an interview after her remarks. “We want more investment, more talent, more pipelines, more opportunities for life sciences here in Massachusetts.”
Workforce development is critical to ensuring Massachusetts retains its biotech prowess.
“We need talent for industries to be able to succeed,” she added. “And so we’re going to work really intentionally through these new initiatives to create a pipeline of workers at all skill levels to be able to plug in for jobs that are readily available today, through our industry partners.
“Through that pipeline and through making it easier for employers to come here, do business here, recruit talent, [and] grow the workforce, they’re going to succeed,” she continued.
“Massachusetts is going to succeed. Life science is a core part of our DNA, our mRNA, our identity as a state,” she concluded in our interview. “We want to see that grow and flourish even more.”
