Seventeen life sciences businesses awarded Massachusetts tax incentives to add and retain 426 combined jobs hit 10% of that target as of Dec. 31. Three companies, including Novartis, had reported layoffs either last year or this year.
Seventeen tax incentive program awardees that were expected to create 426 life sciences jobs total in Massachusetts from 2021 to 2025 and retain them through at least last year missed that goal. The combined net headcount increase as of Dec. 31, 2025, was 41, according to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), which administers the program with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
Of the 426 jobs awardees were expected to add, 306 were meant to be retained through 2027 and 95 through 2028.
It’s not the first time Massachusetts tax incentive program awardees have failed to meet hiring expectations. Late last year, for example, MLSC identified 21 that had fallen short of their goal. Still, the quasi-public economic development group works to avoid that scenario, according to Beth Gosselin, senior vice president of public affairs and strategic planning at MLSC. The organization maintains an active dialogue with companies throughout the year to ensure transparency in the process, Gosselin told BioSpace in an emailed response.
“For example,” she said, “each fall we engage in a progress review to determine if the company is on track to meet the hiring goals outlined in the formal agreement. If not, we discuss ways to achieve the hiring goals.”
Companies that fail to hit their targets are decertified from the program and must return incentives received to the state’s revenue department, according to MLSC policy.
Three recipients on a terminations list MLSC provided to BioSpace were noted as voluntarily terminating their awards: KARL STORZ Endovision; Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, known more commonly as Novartis’ biomedical research organization; and PathAI.
- The Healey-Driscoll Administration and MLSC in October 2025 announced KARL STORZ would receive $713,000 to create 31 jobs in Franklin last year and retain them through 2027. The company terminated its award prior to Dec. 31, 2025.
- A June 2025 announcement noted that Novartis’ biomedical research organization would receive $1.26 million to add 70 jobs in Boston last year and keep them through 2027. The pharma terminated its award March 6.
- PathAI, also named a tax incentive awardee in June 2025, was to use $180,000 to add 10 jobs in Boston last year and keep them through 2027. The company terminated its award prior to Dec. 31, 2025.
Some companies expected to add 50+ jobs
Among the 17 companies on MLSC’s terminations list, three were expected to create at least 50 jobs: Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Novo Nordisk; Novartis, via its biomedical research organization; and Prime Medicine.
Dicerna landed on the list twice after failing to add 125 positions between two tax incentive awards. First, the company was to create 75 jobs in Lexington in 2024 and retain them through 2028, a hiring target connected to a roughly $1.3 million incentive. The company’s actual net headcount increase as of Dec. 31, 2025, was 30. Second, Dicerna was to add 50 jobs in Lexington last year and keep them through 2027, an expectation linked to a $900,000 tax incentive award in 2025. The company did not have a net headcount increase at the end of last year.
Regarding the previously mentioned 70 jobs Novartis’ biomedical research organization was meant to create, the number it ultimately added is unknown. As to Prime Medicine, the company was to add 50 positions in Boston in 2023 in connection with a $750,000 tax incentive award. It did not have a net headcount increase at the end of last year.
3 companies had recent layoffs
Of the 17 companies on the terminations list, three had reported layoffs last year: Novartis, Prime Medicine and TScan. However, Novartis’ layoffs were not known to have affected its biomedical research organization.
Prime announced in May 2025 that as part of a restructuring that included deprioritizing its chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) programs, the biotech was cutting about 25% of its staff. BioSpace estimated the layoffs would affect about 54 people.*
TScan in November 2025 announced it was letting go of roughly 30% of its workforce and refocusing its pipeline to extend its cash runway into the second half of 2027. The biotech noted that the cuts would affect 66 employees.
So far this year, only one company has had reported layoffs. Novartis in May confirmed to BioSpace that it was cutting “a select number” of employees within its biomedical research organization. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said the pharma regularly evaluates its organizational setup to ensure it remains aligned with evolving priorities.
Since its inception, the MLSC tax incentive program has issued 480 awards totaling over $382 million and supporting the creation of over 20,700 jobs, according to group’s website. The next round of award recipients should be announced in the fall, according to Gosselin.
*To tally cuts, BioSpace compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated primarily through information in company press releases, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports or via confirmation from company officials.
