MASSACHUSETTS IS blessed to be home to the greatest concentration of world-class hospitals, universities, and biopharmaceutical companies in the world. But a stagnating economy and looming federal debts will fundamentally alter our innovation ecosystem. How the Bay State adapts to change will have important implications for our local economy, and for medical innovation in the United States and globally.
Right now, the Bay State innovation economy is an enormous strength for our region and has provided great benefits to the nation and the world. Hospitals such as Mass. General and the Brigham regularly lead the rankings for patient care and innovative research. Universities such as Harvard and MIT attract the best professors and students from around the world. Leading local biotech companies such as Biogen, Genzyme, and Vertex have discovered and brought to market life-saving drugs for hepatitis, cancer, and other diseases. Small biotech companies such as Momenta have brought innovative biosimilar drugs to market. Key academic discoveries of the last decade, such as RNA interference and the elucidation of key mechanisms governing aging and diseases of aging, have spawned innovative emerging biotechs such as Alnylam and Sirtris. All of this has attracted the world’s great pharmaceutical companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. The vibrancy of our region’s academic and innovative environment is unmatched.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Innovation suffers with ill economy - The Boston Globe
Author: Christoph Westphal
