Rep. Garballey Hosts Life Sciences Briefing

Meeting for New House Members

The following announcement is from State Representative Sean Garballey (D-Arlington, Medford):

Representative Sean Garballey hosted a briefing last week for newly and recently elected members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives on the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act and the work of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). Garballey opened the speaking program and talked about his collaboration with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the importance of the Life Sciences Act, legislation he supported that was passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law in June of 2008. The briefing included an overview of the Life Sciences Act, strategic priorities and programs for the upcoming year, key investments, and the return on those investments to date.

Presenting at the briefing was Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of the MLSC. Dr. Windham-Bannister brings 35 years of experience in the life sciences to the table. “Representative Garballey was instrumental in the passage of the Life Sciences Act in the House of Representatives last year, and in the success of last week’s event, and I look forward to continued collaboration with him as we move forward with creating jobs, driving innovation and supporting good science,” said Windham-Bannister.

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is committed to leveraging private investment through the targeted use of public resources. To date the Center has committed $33 million in public investments in the life sciences, leveraging more than $327 million in additional private investment, and helping to create hundreds of jobs across the Commonwealth at a critical time, all while expanding scientific knowledge. Johnson & Johnson has already committed a minimum of $500,000 to match the investments made by the MLSC over the next two years through the Center’s Corporate Consortium Program. The MLSC recently committed $10 million to renovate the Loeb Lab at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole. According to Dr. Gary Borisy, Director and CEO of the MBL, the funding helped secure a $15 million private grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The project will create 200 jobs in the building trades and up to 50 permanent jobs in the life sciences.

Raindance Technology, a Lexington-based life sciences company, cited the Life Sciences Act as the reason for their move to Massachusetts from Connecticut last year, bringing 54 jobs with them.

“As a State Representative I am committed to advancing this important work throughout the Commonwealth to create employment opportunities, to reinvest in our economy, and to continue to make Massachusetts a center for scientific advancement,” said Garballey.

About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a ten-year, $1 billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The Center’s mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties between sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.