PROVIDENCE – R.I. Commerce Corp.’s board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved $10 million in Rebuild Rhode Island tax credits to Organogenesis Holdings Inc. of Canton, Mass., part of an incentive package to establish a manufacturing operation at the former Rubius Therapeutics facility in Smithfield.
In addition, the R.I. Life Sciences Hub approved a $5 million grant to the company, using some of the $45 million the quasi-public agency was allocated in the fiscal 2024 state budget.
Finalization of the Organogenesis deal is contingent on the town of Smithfield approving a property tax stabilization agreement, which is still being negotiated, according to Jeff Miller, vice president of investments for R.I. Commerce.
The Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm is seeking to spend $97.5 million to build out the 122,507-square-foot building at 100 Technology Way to focus on its skin replacement products.
Rubius sold the building in early 2023 after it ceased operations and it has been vacant since its purchase by Boston-based The Davis Cos.
Publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, Organogenesis specializes in regenerative medicine and biomaterials in advanced wound care and orthopedics, spinal, and skin replacement surgical procedures. It has additional facilities in Birmingham, Ala.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and San Diego, Calif.
The tax incentives require the company –
which has more than 900 workers nationwide –
to create 103 new jobs in Rhode Island over four years, beginning with 15 employees in Smithfield by the end of 2026. The 103 new jobs would have an annual median salary of $110,000, according to an analysis by Appleseed Consulting, which estimates that from 2027 through 2036, the company could also qualify for approximately $3.2 million in Qualified Jobs Incentive credits.
The fiscal impact is estimated to be approximately $17 million in forgone state revenue, according to the analysis. However, the direct and indirect economic benefits include an estimated increase in annual gross domestic product of $30.4 million in 2029 and a gross increase in personal income, sales and business tax revenues of approximately $7.7 million between 2027 and 2039.
While Organogenesis is not planning to relocate from its Canton headquarters, R.I. Life Science Hub Chairman Neil D. Steinberg said the company wants to sign a 15-year lease with a five-year option by the end of November.
“They are a very successful company. They could either build in Canton or lease this space here,” he said. “They can get up and running faster here.”
Steinberg had been negotiating with Organogenesis executives for over a year, he said, and stressed the importance to the board of wooing the company and others like it over the border.
“You don't see a lot of companies like that walking around the streets of Rhode Island,” he said of Organogenesis, which generates more than $400 million in revenue annually. “This is not a startup. They have products approved and have been public for several years.”
The company was founded in 1985 as a spin-off based on regenerative technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the company website.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee, who also chairs the R.I. Commerce board, acknowledged the state needs a win amid battles to keep companies such as Citizens Bank and Hasbro Inc. in Rhode Island.
“We are being aggressive to make sure we are protecting our current businesses. But it’s all about innovating,” he said. “They’ve got to feel as though we are innovating [too].”
A graduate of Bryant University’s MBA program, Organogenesis CEO and Chairman Gary S. Gillheeney Sr. lives in Johnston, according to his online bio and property records.
(Updated to include the $5 million grant approval for Organogenesis by the R.I. Life Sciences Hub.)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.