Planting the seeds of innovation
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in June held an event reflecting on nearly four decades of growth in the Central Massachusetts life and health sciences cluster, particularly around MBI’s home in Worcester. The now burgeoning industry took a long time to develop, and part of the look back was identifying the critical factors that got it started here.
Clearly one of the cornerstone events was the siting of the UMass Medical School in Worcester, which opened in 1970. The medical school’s robust research capabilities is a massive presence and ongoing catalyst. The Worcester Business Development Corp. – an organization at the time largely made up of planners and community leaders – then looked into a foggy crystal ball and took the risk on the nascent biomedical industry by founding the biotech research park across the street from the medical school, which is now known as UMass Medicine Science Park.
Fast forward to today and Science Park is full of tenants. Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s foray into the space in 2010 with Gateway Park – initially created in partnership with WBDC, but today owned by the college – is thriving; and MBI’s incubator model has helped an estimated 150 startup and early stage companies get off the ground creating more than 2,500 jobs in the region. CenTech Park in Grafton and WBDC’s latest venture in Worcester – the 44-acre biomanufacturing campus now branded The Reactory, on the former Worcester State Hospital site and next to Science Park – promise to expand the region’s capabilities in the important niche of manufacturing drugs for clinical trials.
All this biotech success is a culmination of many factors and efforts: the medical school coming to Worcester, local leaders leveraging that engine, and the region being able to offer cost advantages to the growing biotech cluster in Greater Boston.
So while we need to double down on expanding the life and health sciences sector here, we should look at what made this industry successful and how Central Massachusetts can plant the seeds in other up-and-coming sectors. Certainly with Becker College’s expertising in video games and esports, coupled with MassDiGI being headquartered in the college’s Worcester campus, the business community could attract more from that industry. Worcester County’s long history in the manufacturing industry would make the region appear primed to take advantage of new developments in advanced manufacturing.
Picking the right horse to ride can be based on a detailed assessment of trends and industry data, but when it comes down to making that horse a winner, there is an undeniable mix of luck and pluck. One of the cornerstones of Massachusetts’ resilient economy is its diversity, and that principle holds true for our region. Sorting out which industry to help plant the seeds of growth with the public-private partnership model will be a critical step in the city and region’s long-term economic growth.
WBJ Web Partners
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