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Connecticut
Has Earned A Respected Place But
Must Stay Alert in Competitive World of Biotech
From
the desk of Paul Pescatello, President and CEO of CURE
 CURE recently attended the annual meetings of the ISSCR (International Society for Stem Cell Research) and BIO (the Biotechnology Industry
Organization). Feedback at these meetings, together with recent news reports, make two things abundantly clear: First,
Connecticut has a recognized and respected niche in the high-stakes world of
cutting-edge bioscience. Second, the competition in this world, for talent and investment dollars, has never been greater.
More than 2,800 people from 44 different countries were in Philadelphia June 11-14 for the ISSCR annual meeting, a gathering of some of the world's most distinguished stem cell scientists. On the dais and convention floor were some of the very same speakers who graced Connecticut's own StemCONN 07 conference in Hartford in March of 2007, and who will be back in Connecticut again for the StemCONN 09 conference
March 23-24 in New Haven. View StemCONN
website.
From our own booth at the Philadelphia convention, we spoke with several vendors and potential sponsors interested in the upcoming New Haven event as well as scientists with fond memories of the Hartford gathering. There is no question that Connecticut's bold decision to sponsor stem cell research with public funding, and the work now being undertaken in out state, has put it on the map as far as the stem cell community is concerned.
As for the BIO convention, held June 17-20 this year in San Diego, it continues to draw big crowds from all corners of the bioscience industry. Organizers reported 20,108 attendees from 70 countries at the San Diego meeting. A total of 2,100 companies exhibited at the convention center in California's biotech heartland, not far from the Torrey Pines golf course where Tiger Woods was fighting to another U.S. Open victory even as the convention unfolded.
Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Joan McDonald, Connecticut Development Authority President Marie O'Brien, and Connecticut Innovations President Peter Longo helped represent Connecticut. Their presence was greatly appreciated by the Connecticut biopharma scientists and executives who attended the convention. Their evident commitment helped make Connecticut's industry recruitment efforts all the more competitive with those of 30+ states showcased at BIO'08.
Canaan Ventures' and CURE board member Kevin Rakin gave the "Connecticut delegation" a tour of the La Jolla biotech cluster, including a stop at Advanced BioHealing for a look at the company's research and manufacturing facilities. The group also had a tour and in-depth meetings at Pfizer's La Jolla research facility.
San Diego is beautiful, but expensive. Connecticut lease rates are 30% to 50% lower than in other bioscience hubs such as San Francisco. Cambridge/Boston, or San Diego itself.
And Connecticut has other attractions of its own. The state boasts an extensive network of supporting businesses, such as laboratory design and construction firms, that are savvy about biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. Compared to
California's sprawling geography, Connecticut's strategic location within the East Coast healthcare corridor is a competitive advantage. Within a one-day drive from the center of the state lies one-third of the U.S. economy and two-thirds of the Canadian economy. These are important considerations as energy prices rise.
Moreover, Connecticut's technology and science workforce and assets rank among the top ten in the country. The state attracts a highly educated, pharmaceutical-experienced workforce, drawn by the quality of life and the career opportunities in bioscience that Connecticut's established infrastructure provides. Large pharmas, emerging biotechs, major research universities, and first class hospitals - they're all part of the Connecticut bioscience cluster.
But let's not get complacent. BIO once again underscored how competitive the bioscience industry has become. Our policies promoting R&D are a major attraction, but increasingly other regions offer flexible programs that allow incentives to be custom designed for technological niches and even specific companies.
We should also work to do more to provide tax incentives for early stage investing. And when biotech start-ups are ready to move beyond research into manufacturing we should have in place the programs and flexibility to ensure companies born in Connecticut grow in Connecticut.
Nationally the financial markets are unsettled right now and a question mark hangs over the nation's economic future. Belt tightening is the automatic response to these uncertainties by some at the state level. Let's not forget, though, that bioscience is one of the driving engines of the local economy. Keeping the industry strong now, and continuing to improve its competitive position relative to other bioscience centers, will pay rich dividends in the near future.
Paul R. Pescatello is President and CEO of CURE. |
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