WALTHAM, Mass. – The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced today that the agency’s Board of Directors has awarded $25 million in tax incentives to 33 life sciences companies. The recipient companies have committed to creating more than 1,200 new jobs in the Commonwealth in 2014.
The Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program was established in 2008 as part of Massachusetts’ 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. The program authorizes up to $25 million in tax incentives each year for companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization and manufacturing. The primary goal of the program is to incentivize life sciences companies to create new sustained jobs in Massachusetts.
The Life Sciences Act provides for 10 different incentives, which address the significant capital expenditures associated with the life sciences R&D cycle and the high costs of translating research into commercially viable products. This is the fifth year that incentives have been provided under the program. Forty-four companies have active tax incentive awards from prior years totaling more than $68 million. Those prior awardees have created more than 4,350 new jobs after receiving their tax incentives.
“Our Life Sciences Initiative has positioned Massachusetts as the global leader in life sciences innovation and job growth,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “We are building on that progress and maintaining our edge at the forefront of the innovation economy and medical discovery.”
“Over the past five years the Life Sciences Center’s Tax Incentive Program has encouraged life sciences companies large and small to create jobs and grow in Massachusetts,” said Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., President & CEO of the MLSC. “This program 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.”
“The companies that will receive these incentives are adding jobs in a cutting-edge industry that is a strength for Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Administration and Finance Secretary Glen Shor, Co-chairman of the MLSC’s Board of Directors. “The Governor’s Life Sciences Initiative offers hope to those waiting for cures for diseases and solidifies our place as a global leader in the innovation economy.”
The Tax Incentive Program is jointly administered by the MLSC and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), which oversees the technical administration of the incentives. Jobs that are created must be maintained for at least five years. The Tax Incentive Program mandates that awarded companies submit reports and respond to inquiries by the MLSC and DOR regarding employment figures. If a company receiving a tax incentive under the program does not meet and maintain their minimum threshold for job creation, the credit can be “clawed back” (recovered) by DOR, requiring that the company pay back all or a portion of the tax incentives they’ve received.
“Foundation Medicine has grown rapidly since our founding in 2010 and recently relocated to new state-of-the-art headquarters and lab facilities in Cambridge,” said Jason Ryan, Senior Vice President of Finance, Foundation Medicine, Inc. “We remain deeply committed to the Massachusetts life sciences community and innovation economy, and creating jobs for talented individuals in this field as our business continues to grow. We are honored to have received this recognition and incentive in 2013 and again this year from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.”
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is an investment agency that supports life sciences innovation, research, development and commercialization. The MLSC is charged with implementing a 10-year, $1-billion, state-funded investment initiative. These investments create jobs and support advances that improve health and well-being. The MLSC offers the nation’s most comprehensive set of incentives and collaborative programs targeted to the life sciences ecosystem. These programs propel the growth that has made Massachusetts the global leader in life sciences. The MLSC creates new models for collaboration and partners with organizations, both public and private, around the world to promote innovation in the life sciences. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
About the Life Sciences Tax Incentive Program
The Life Sciences Initiative authorizes the MLSC to award up to $25 million in tax incentives each year. Applicants are generally companies that have transitioned or are transitioning from pure life sciences research and development (“R&D”) to commercialization and manufacturing. The MLSC recognizes that many companies struggle to address the significant capital investment associated with the long life sciences R&D cycle and the high cost of translating research into a commercially viable product. This program is designed to help sustain these companies through a critical stage of development and to leverage additional sources of capital to bring cutting edge innovation to the marketplace.
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