Can Rhode Island catch the bioscience wave?

Giselle Lafrance

03/14/2009

Bioscience is the wave of the future. Although commonly tucked neatly in the shadow of health care, the bioscience industry stands separately on its own as a strong, viable and globally recognized industry. The U.S. Department of Labor has labeled bioscience as one of the fastest-growing industries in the nation. According to The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) – the world’s largest biotechnology association – more than 82,000 bioscience-related patents were awarded in the United States between 2002 and 2007; and the “total employment impact, including direct, indirect and induced jobs,” of the biosciences sector is 7.5 million jobs – one in every 20 employed persons.
Even with recession on the rise, the average bioscience professional earns a salary 68 percent higher than the average. The bioscience industry offers a strong, steady future to those willing to invest in it.
Can Rhode Island have a part in this future? The answer, very clearly, is “yes.” Rhode Island’s size, location, education opportunities and bioscience diversity make it an ideal place for the industry to thrive. The state’s small size creates an intimate opportunity for collaboration between critical industry, academic and government agencies. Our situation along the I-95 corridor between biocentralized Boston / Cambridge and New York, positions Rhode Island as an affordable and attractive location for small startup research and development companies as well as large manufacturing corporations who are looking to escape the costs and crowds of traditional biotech cities while still remaining within a 1 to 2 hour drive. Additionally, Rhode Island has the single highest concentration of academic institutions nationwide. And with Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Yale, we have some of the most prestigious universities in our state and the surrounding New England area. Through the culmination of these three factors, a unique culture of bioscience diversity exists in the state. Pockets of biotech clusters – such as the burgeoning Jewelry District in Providence, are beginning to rise in the state; while established companies, such as Neurotech USA, which recently celebrated the grand opening of its new 27,000-square-foot GMP manufacturing facility in Cumberland, are still finding success. At the same time, companies such as Concordia Fibers have transformed themselves from a dying industry of textile manufacturing to a thriving producer of medical textiles.
Recently, we have heard several state officials, including Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts, increasingly emphasize the need for Rhode Island to invest in bioscience and technology. This message has also been passionately echoed by the more than 150 bioscience leaders and professionals at a three-part “Bio Ed” series hosted by the Tech Collective in late 2008. Panelists, including Roberts, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and executive representatives from across all business, academic and government areas of the industry discussed their challenges and successes in raising bioscience awareness, education and engagement in Rhode Island.
Regulations, resources, funding, work force and public education were seen as among the top challenges for the industry – concerns that the state is trying to address through business, tax and training incentives, PK-20 and continued education programs and strategic collaborations with organizations such as the Tech Collective, the R.I. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), the R.I. Science and Technology Advisement Council (STAC), the R.I. Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island – which funds the state’s eight Industry Partnerships, including a bioscience partnership with the Tech Collective. Cicilline expressed his desire to increase industry advocacy, investment and biotech branding initiatives within the city. Additionally, federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, including the 4.5 year, $3 million Biotechnology / Biomanufacturing Grant, has trained over 900 incumbent and transitioning Rhode Island bioscience workers. The grant also helped to establish the Biotechnology Manufacturing Program at URI and, with leadership from the R.I. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, helped to establish the Bioscience Academies in five local area high schools and career and tech centers.
Can Rhode Island have a future in the bioscience industry? Without a doubt. The Milken Institute report predicts that “activity in [Rhode Island’s health and life sciences] sector will triple by 2014.” With the right nurturing and through collaboration, awareness, education and opportunity, Rhode Island can seize the great potential of the bioscience industry and inject into our state the high-wage, high-tech and high-demand jobs needed for a prosperous 21st century work force, state and economy. •

Giselle LaFrance has been the Tech Collective’s communications specialist since 2007. The group’s Bio Ed series – held in late 2008 – will be followed by a Bio Government Affairs Forum March 26 at the Providence Marriott Downtown hotel on Orms Street. The forum is being presented in partnership with the New England Biotech Association (NEBA) – recently formed by six biotech associations, including Tech Collective’s BioGroup – and the office of the governor. For more information, visit www.tech-collective.org.

PBN Branded Content