Press Release
Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative announces stakeholders meeting set for 2007
Leaders meet to set strategy for a regional agenda
December 6, 2006
Boston – Leaders from institutions with a significant stake in the life sciences have announced the creation of a cross-sector collaborative that will develop a comprehensive, integrated strategy for the Commonwealth based on shared opportunities and challenges. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative will also promote a continuous dialogue among life sciences leaders in academia, industry and government.
The Collaborative, chaired by Steven Hyman, Provost of Harvard University, held the first meeting of its Organizing Committee today in Boston. Leaders of this effort include Harvard University, the Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Innovation Institute. Also joining in leadership roles are the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts High Tech Council, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, Medical Academic and Scientific Community Organization, Inc., Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston Redevelopment Authority, New England Health Care Institute, Boston University, MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, Genzyme Corporation, Merck Research Laboratories, Haemonetics, ZOLL Medical Corporation, Monitor Group, the City of Cambridge and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The organization is expected to grow with the goal of including the broadest range of academic, corporate and civic institutions with a stake in the sector.
Among the opportunities and challenges the Collaborative will focus on are the development of a common vision and common values, creating a common agenda that spans the interests of the sector. The Organizing Committee will begin by creating a major stakeholder survey, to be conducted by the Monitor Group. The survey will be used to identify issues critical to the sector, assemble teams to develop issue papers and craft a plan to advance the collaborative’s agenda, and provide support leading up to a meeting of major stakeholders in the life sciences in the fall of 2007.
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative will develop a broadly shared strategic life sciences growth plan for the Commonwealth. The convening is designed in part to respond to the focus placed on the life sciences sector by Governor-elect Deval Patrick and to reflect his current invitation to leaders and stakeholders in a wide range of fields to collaborate to articulate shared goals.
In addition, one immediate opportunity the Collaborative is designed to address is BIO 2007, the largest annual conference for the life sciences field, which will take place in Boston in May 2007. More than 25,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 60 nations, as well as government leaders and executives representing all the top global biopharma companies, are expected to attend.
The idea of a comprehensive Life Sciences collaboration was first explored at a meeting in 2003, which identified key challenges for the sector. These included a growing level of competition from other regions, a lack of any overarching Commonwealth growth plan for the life sciences, and the lack of any institutional vehicle that could foster and support collaboration. More recently, leaders in the sector recognized both the increase in global competitiveness and a new willingness for leaders in the sector to work together to secure the Commonwealth’s earned position in the field. The result is the current effort, which includes both wide support from critical organizations and a well defined year-long plan to build consensus.
“The increasingly competitive nature of the global economy makes it more important than ever for the Commonwealth to develop an inclusive, sector-wide strategy for the life sciences,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “This community of universities, research institutions and corporations represents one of the most important assets for the region, and we can not hope to maintain our current advantage unless we reconvene and work together.”
The Boston Foundation made the commitment to renew the plan for a life sciences collaborative as part of its focus on the increasing need to address key competitiveness issues in the region. It was joined by other early funders, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the University of Massachusetts/Boston.
“The institutions and organizations included here represent world leaders in the field, but increasingly, the recognition of the importance we play collectively in the local and regional economy compels us to collaborate and inform opinion leaders of how best to nurture this field,” said Steven Hyman, Provost of Harvard University and Chair of the new Life Sciences Collaborative. “We hope that through opportunities to communicate together, we can create a better understanding of what it takes to build a collaborative strategy that leverages those individual strengths for enhanced public benefit.”
“It has taken a great deal of time and hard work to get to this point,” said Mitchell Adams, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. “It required a shared vision, strong leadership and timing. All of the key organizations are coming together to strengthen the life sciences mega-cluster, which is the heart-lung machine of the Massachusetts innovation economy.”