Grant to Mansfield Bio-Incubator Will Accelerate Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Expand Workforce Development in an Underserved Region of the State
February 14, 2024
Source: Innovation Institute at MassTech
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $800,000 to bolster the biomanufacturing sector in Southeastern Massachusetts through a new grant to the Mansfield Bio-Incubator, a regional biotech and life sciences incubator that assists local entrepreneurs and startups to accelerate their projects, attract new talent, provide training, and boost capital investment.
The new, two-year grant from the Technology & Innovation Ecosystem Award grant program, managed by the Innovation Institute at the Mass Tech Collaborative, will help Mansfield Bio-Incubator support growing companies working to innovate in cell and gene therapy, and 3D culture technology. The capital investment will allow the facility to purchase new equipment to boost biomanufacturing in the region, helping respond to increased demand from the Bio-Incubator's existing members and to scale-up support for new entrepreneurs in Southeastern Massachusetts. In turn, this will drive increased economic growth and boost workforce training activities in an underserved region with a diverse population.
“Biomanufacturing has the potential to make Massachusetts more sustainable while at the same time meeting our production needs, workforce demands and business development goals,” said Governor Healey. “It has an important role to play in our national defense and drug manufacturing, and in securing the health and safety of our residents. We want to congratulate the Mansfield Bio-Incubator for their hard work to address these priorities by leveraging the incredible talent of Southeastern Massachusetts and helping us lead the nation in this emerging sector.”
“Communities across the state should have access to the resources needed to become the future centers of biotech, biomanufacturing, and life sciences,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This strategic grant to the Mansfield Bio-Incubator will draw investments, small businesses, and new workforce opportunities to grow the sector in the region. As a result, we can build more a more dynamic ecosystem and increase the innovative potential for companies in the Southeast.”
“By boosting this growing regional biomanufacturing hub, the state is investing in R&D technologies that will foster the growth of more innovative companies advancing human health within the state,” said Secretary Yvonne Hao of the Executive Office of Economic Development. “Through this grant, we can ensure that biomanufacturing firms specializing in regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, and cell therapy can expand their production to meet demand, discover new breakthroughs, and maintain international competitiveness.”
Mansfield Bio-Incubator is supported by two principal partners on the project, Wheaton College in Norton, who will help develop experiential learning opportunities for students and The Capital Network in Cambridge, who will help improve access to venture funding. The incubator will drive economic growth and increase competition in biomanufacturing, allowing the Mansfield Bio-Incubator to accelerate the maturation of a cell and gene therapy and 3D culture hub in Southeastern Massachusetts.
“Given this sector’s novel approach to assembling the elements that drive our economy, we are proud to support the Mansfield Bio-Incubator, this world-class cluster, and the economic competitiveness of Southeastern Massachusetts,” said Pat Larkin, Director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech. “We congratulate the Bio-Incubator on their efforts to grow startups, workforce development opportunities, and the necessary scaffolding to grow biomanufacturing across this region.”
“The role of life sciences in both the well-being of humanity as a whole and the economic development will only increase in the coming years,” said Alexander Margulis, Chief Operating Officer of Mansfield Bio-Incubator. “With Massachusetts being at the forefront of groundbreaking scientific discoveries, more mini clusters across the state will cement the Commonwealth’s lofty status as a life science mecca. The partnerships, such as one between MassTech Collaborative and Mansfield Bio-Incubator, are critical for implementing this vision.”
At the national level, the Biden-Harris administration has targeted biomanufacturing for expanded development and has recommended making an increased investment in the field, given its importance to increased drug development, expanded supply chains, and national security.
“The work that the Mansfield Bio-Incubator is doing to increase the scope and quality of experiential learning opportunities for college students such as Allison Darling of North Attleboro, who has trained at Phenomenex and EverCell Bio, exemplifies the best of industry-academia collaboration, and will help to ensure the development of Southeastern Massachusetts as an up-and-coming player in the biomanufacturing and life sciences sectors,” said Imran Chowdhury, a member of the Mansfield Bio-Incubator’s Advisory Board and Dean of the Ketner School of Business at Catawba College in North Carolina.
The Mansfield Bio-Incubator estimates that it will take four years to incubate 15 new companies, which will create 30 jobs and lead to the training of 50 interns to boost the talent pool for biomanufacturing. The facility also anticipates that increased momentum around biomanufacturing in Southeastern Massachusetts could lead to larger companies moving to the area to expand the sector. These funds will also enable them to support future industrial biomanufacturing cluster development and continued support of the diverse population they serve, including 10 female founders and a fledgling femtech cluster comprised focused on women’s health products or services.
"Bio-incubators, such as the Mansfield Bio-Incubator, are instrumental in the success of Massachusetts' larger life sciences sector by serving as a regional hub for world-class innovation and growth through the creation of well-paying, skilled jobs that strengthen the Commonwealth's competitive edge in the marketplace,” said Senator Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough). “I am thrilled with the announcement of an additional $800,000 in funding to the Mansfield Bio-Incubator to continue bringing new ideas to the market that have the potential to make lives better and fuel the region's flourishing biotech and life sciences industries. Massachusetts is a world leader in this sector, and with the incredible work being done at the Mansfield Bio-Incubator, we are showing that our region can be a hub for innovators. I commend the Mansfield Bio-Incubator for serving as an example of excellence for all Massachusetts bio-incubators, and I thank the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the MassTech Collaborative for recognizing and investing in this tremendous local asset.”
“Massachusetts is #1 in many things, therefore it is paramount that we be #1 in workforce development,” said Representative Adam Scanlon of the 14th Bristol District. “I’m excited to hear that this grant will help leverage opportunities to create jobs for all people in our region within the STEM field. We must continue to support organizations like Mansfield Bio so that we can set the example as the state with the fastest growing and most diverse workforce. Our local businesses are what embodies the fabric of innovation in Massachusetts.”
“I am so proud of the continued success of Mansfield Bio and the local partnership with Wheaton College, a win-win,” said Representative Jay Barrows of the 1st Bristol district, who represents the town of Mansfield.
“We are thrilled that the support needed to grow and accelerate cell and gene therapy has been awarded to Mansfield Bio-Incubator in order to further their great work." said Kevin Dumas, Town Manager of Mansfield. "It is the collaboration with our partners in government along with other public and private sectors that make life sciences in Massachusetts thrive. Mansfield remains committed to growing this important sector in the Southeast Region of the State and is glad to get behind and support this important initiative.”
The Tech and Innovation Ecosystem grant program seeks to strengthen the technology and innovation ecosystem in regions across the Commonwealth through support for projects or initiatives that contribute to a competitive advantage for existing and emerging industry clusters across Massachusetts. The program aims to improve conditions overall for job growth, drive business expansion and new business formation, and impact other indicators of growth in the innovation economy such as capital formation, increased export products and services, improved labor pools, and increased wages.
To date, the program has invested nearly $12 million in six projects located across the state, focused on diverse sectors such as autonomous vehicles, blockchain, blue tech, fintech, and robotics.
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About the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
The MassTech Collaborative is a quasi-public economic development agency that strengthens the competitiveness of the tech and innovation economy by driving strategic investments, partnerships, and insights that harness the talent of Massachusetts. The Innovation Institute is the division of MassTech that advances its core mission of innovation and cluster growth across the Commonwealth. Created in 2003, the Innovation Institute intervenes in the economy in the following four ways:
Conducts research and analysis that improves the state’s understandings of unmet needs and opportunities in the innovation economy;
Serves as convener and key strategic broker on the landscape;
Manages high-value projects on behalf of the Commonwealth; and
Makes strategic investments in support of innovation-based economic development.
For more information, visit https://innovation.masstech.org/.