Press Release
Life Sciences Collaborative Organizing Committee Meeting
Marks First Year Accomplishments
New 2008 Leadership Council to be Co-Chaired by Faust, Hockfield, Termeer & Wilson
CAMBRIDGE, MA (December 10, 2007) – The Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative, formed to address issues affecting the state’s life sciences super cluster, will hold a meeting of its Organizing Committee at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge on December 11 at 8:00 a.m. Strategic task forces, which have met throughout the year, will report on clinical trials, biomanufacturing, transportation and research matching grants, as well as workforce development.
Chaired by Harvard Provost Steven Hyman, the Organizing Committee held its first meeting in December 2006 to create cross-sector collaboration, develop a new Life Sciences Leadership Council and begin crafting a comprehensive, sustainable and integrated Massachusetts strategy to spur life sciences growth. The life sciences sector is vitally important to the future strength of the state’s economy.
Based on the solid foundation provided by the Organizing Committee, the Life Sciences Collaborative will move to the next phase of operation in 2008 with the newly formed Leadership Council to be co-chaired by Harvard President Drew Faust, MIT President Susan Hockfield, Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer, and UMass President Jack Wilson. The first meeting will be held in spring 2008.
“We could not have asked for a better, more committed group of people representing every aspect of our world-class life sciences super cluster in Massachusetts,” said Hyman. “The Life Sciences Collaborative has provided a platform for leaders within the cluster to deliberate on issues confronting the sector and to inform the ongoing public policy discussion. We have assisted in the development of the $1 billion life sciences initiative, and we plan to work aggressively with House and Senate Leadership and members as they deliberate on the measure in the early months of 2008. We are fortunate to have visionary leaders in the Legislature and the Corner Office, and the Collaborative will continue to provide a strong voice on challenges facing the life sciences sector from leadership in the field.”
The Collaborative made substantial progress during its first year including:
- Assembling and motivating a group of high-powered industry, academic and government leaders to work together toward shared successes cut across individual sectors (e.g. biotech, medical devices, pharmaceutical);
- Providing a comprehensive briefing to the new Patrick Administration on the importance of our life sciences super cluster, which employs over 400,000 people in the Commonwealth, generates over $25 billion in revenues, and leads the nation in per capita NIH funding, venture capital investment, and life sciences PhDs;
- Working in partnership with The Monitor Group to complete a comprehensive survey of leading executives on the business and economic climate in Massachusetts;
- Providing technical analysis and support to Governor Patrick as he developed and launched the new $1 billion life sciences initiative;
- Partnering with PricewaterhouseCoopers on a report that showcased the state’s national leadership in life sciences prompting a Boston Globe editorial with the headline “Long Live the Life Sciences”;
- Sponsoring the BIO International 2007 Convention in Boston to highlight Massachusetts’ competitive advantages in life sciences;
- Being tapped to serve as Advisory Council to the newly created Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency that will make investments in research & development, commercialization and help companies expand in Massachusetts;
- Launching task force on Research, Innovation and Commercialization co-chaired by Aram Chobanian (Boston University), Chris Gabrieli (Bessemer Venture Partners), and Charles Cooney (MIT) initially focusing on Research Matching Grants, Clinical Trials and Innovation Centers;
- Launching task force on Economic and Business Environment (EBE) co-chaired by Mara Aspinall (Genzyme) and Michael Collins (UMass Medical School) initially focusing on Biomanufacturing, Transportation and Business Development;
- Launching task force on Human Capital co-chaired by Gary Gottlieb (Brigham and Women's Hospital) and Paul Harrington (Northeastern University) focusing on understanding the workforce needs of the life sciences super cluster;
- Providing support for the Governor’s first trade mission to China, which is largely focused on expanding opportunities for life sciences in Massachusetts;
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative was founded by support from The Boston Foundation, the University of Massachusetts, Harvard University, MIT and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s John Adams Innovation Institute.
“The Life Sciences represents one of the Commonwealth’s great assets, with a global reputation for excellence,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “And the success of this group underscores the new capacity for collaborative enterprise we have achieved in the region. Steve Hyman’s leadership has been an important part of this important success. He has effectively set the stage for the next chapter.”
“The Life Sciences Collaborative has certainly exceeded our expectations as a forum for the issues that cut across the varied and occasionally competing interests in this space,” said MTC Executive Director Mitchell Adams. “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Steven Hyman for his dedicated, skilled leadership of this group during the critical first year of operation.”
Members of the Life Sciences Collaborative Organizing Committee include:
Chair: Steven Hyman, Provost, Harvard University
Mitchell Adams, Executive Director, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Burt Adelman, Executive Vice President, Biogen/IDEC
Christopher Anderson, President, Massachusetts High Technology Council (MHTC)
Robert Anderson, Division Counsel, Abbott Laboratories
Joseph Aoun, President, Northeastern University
Edward Benz, President, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Jamshed Bharucha, Provost, Tufts University
Paul Bleicher, Chairman and Founder, Phase Forward Inc.
Deborah Bohren, Vice President for External Affairs, MIT
Abbie Celniker, Head, Program Office, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
Aram Chobanian, Dean Emeritus and former President, Boston University
Michael Collins, Senior Vice President of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts;
Interim Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Charles Cooney, Faculty Director, Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, MIT
John Erwin, Executive Director, Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals
Walter Ettinger, President, UMass Memorial Medical Center
Wendy Everett, President, New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI)
Gayle Farris, President, Forest Cities Enterprises, Science and Technology Group
David Fleming, Group Senior Vice President, Genzyme
Jonathan Fleming, Managing Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners
Christopher Gabrieli, Senior Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
Ansbert Gadicke, Founding General Partner, MPM Capital
Gary Gottlieb, President, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Michael Green, Professor, UMass Worcester
Robert Green, COO, Lyme Properties
Jeffrey Grogan, Partner, Monitor Group
Paul Grogan, President, The Boston Foundation
Paul Guzzi, President, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Robert Healy, City Manager, City of Cambridge
Hal Jenson, Chief Academic Officer, Baystate Health
Ranch Kimball, President and CEO, Joslin Diabetes Center
George Langford, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, UMass Amherst
Patrick Larkin, Director, John Adams Innovation Institute
Paul Levy, President and CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Lisa Lopez, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Haemonetics Corporation
Mark Maloney, Chairman, Boston World Partnerships
James Mandell, President and CEO, Children’s Hospital Boston
Kevin O’Sullivan, President and CEO, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives
Richard Packer, President and CEO, ZOLL Medical Corporation
Joyce Plotkin, President, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council
Peter Slavin, CEO, Massachusetts General Hospital
Thomas Sommer, President, Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council
Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd, President and CEO, MASCO
Elaine Ullian, President and CEO, Boston Medical Center
Lex Van der Ploeg, Vice President of Basic Research and Site Head, Merck Research Labs
Jack Wilson, President, University of Massachusetts
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