March 19, 2015
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Board of Directors held a meeting on March 18 to award $19 million in tax incentives to 11 life sciences companies in the state. As a result, these businesses will create 1,075 new jobs for Massachusetts in 2015.
“The Life Sciences Center’s tax incentive program has encouraged life sciences companies of all sizes to create jobs and grow their businesses in Massachusetts,” said Susan Windham-Bannister, president and chief executive officer of the MLSC. “This program has played an important role in attracting the world’s leading biopharma companies here, and continues to provide a solid return to the Commonwealth, while holding life sciences employers who receive our incentives highly accountable for meeting their job creation commitments.”
This list details the 11 companies receiving funding, as well as their job total additions:
• Baxter Healthcare Corporation, 220 jobs
• GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences Corporation, 175 jobs
• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 100 jobs
• Amgen , 100 jobs
• Philips Electronics North America, 100 jobs
• Biogen Idec , 80 jobs
• Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. , 75 jobs
• Alkermes plc , 65 jobs
• Synageva BioPharma Corportation, 60 jobs
• Quest Diagnostics Incorporated , 50 jobs
• SMC Ltd., 50 jobs
“Massachusetts’ life sciences sectors are the fastest-growing sectors of our economy,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. “We will continue to build on that success and maintain our competitive edge as the global leader in life sciences.”
A Closer Look at the Massachusetts Tax Incentive
The Life Sciences tax incentive program is a part of the state’s 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. The tax incentive itself was established in 2008, and it gives funding to companies each year to encourage development, commercialization and manufacturing.
This will be the sixth year of the program, and thus far, $90 million has been awarded to life sciences companies. In turn, more than 5,000 jobs have been created in Massachusetts.
The MLSC can award up to $25 million in tax incentives each year. The program is meant to guide companies through the development stage and help them innovate in the marketplace.
Some of the companies that have come to Massachusetts to do business include Roche , Bristol-Myers Squibb Company , Novartis AG and Pfizer Inc. .
BioSpace Temperature Poll
After Amgen Inc. said last week that it will close its South San Francisco facility acquired during its $10 billion buyout of Onyx Pharmaceuticals and will lay off 300 of Oynx’s 750 workers, BioSpace is wondering—will the number of mergers and acquisitions completed in 2014 mean a “streamlining” of biotech jobs in the Bay Area? Tell us your thoughts.
