Could you briefly introduce MassBio and outline its role in Massachusetts’ life sciences industry? MassBio was the first state biotech trade association, and is now the largest with over 1,100 members. Our role is to ensure our members have the best possible environment to operate in so that they can improve the lives of patients around the world. To do so, we provide a range of services including state and federal advocacy, professional development and networking, and our own purchasing consortium. More broadly, we act as an intermediary among all segments of our sector and across academia and government, to help facilitate communications and partnerships, and to support innovation within Massachusetts.

How essential is the role of universities not just in training a skilled workforce, but in contributing to early-stage research?

Massachusetts did not become the top life sciences hub in the world by chance. There would be no biotechnology or life sciences industry in Massachusetts were it not for the world-class academic institutions and academic medical centers. We have the best and brightest scientists in the world working to develop new, breakthrough cures and treatments. Together with a thriving life sciences industry, there is no unmet medical need known to humankind that somebody in this market is not trying to solve.

The data clearly shows that a large share of cutting-edge research is happening here. For the past several decades, Massachusetts’ world-class hospitals, academic and research institutions have been awarded a disproportionately large share of NIH funding – it is the bold science that has put us on the map and continues to keep us there from an innovation standpoint.

Is new activity stemming primarily from the relocation of companies to the state, or from new companies forming from university spin-offs and other sources?

New activity stems from both company relocation and from new companies formed from tech transfers and other sources. MassBio’s economic development team has done an incredible job recruiting large pharmaceutical companies to Massachusetts. They have come mainly for two reasons. First is to tap into the R&D and second is to carry out business development and licensing deals. The drug discovery model has changed in the past decade; big pharma companies have taken the money they may have previously invested into vast campuses and instead invested in partnering and licensing deals. This is called external innovation. It is cheaper, more efficient and has helped pharma companies secure a higher likelihood of success with new breakthrough therapies through partnerships with small companies. 18 of the top 20 pharma companies now have a significant presence here in Massachusetts.

Nevertheless, our priority is to help new companies thrive and grow here, in part to ensure that the top companies see continued benefit in having a strong presence in Massachusetts. For example, we work with local tech transfer offices to help commercialize the research happening there. Our goal is to ensure that science does not sit on the shelf where it will collect dust and never help the patient. There is no better place than Massachusetts to translate science into business and create a therapy for the patient.

Are there any particular gaps in the market or trends shaping the industry?

There is a significant opportunity around convergence. Today, unlike 10 years ago, the lines between different industry segments such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices are becoming much more blurred. A decade from now, we hope to be the best location in the world for all things life sciences across areas such as drug discovery, cures, combination therapies and companion diagnostics.

We are also seeing huge growth in the diagnostics field. Ultimately, many believe that drugs will not be approved in the future without a companion diagnostic. We want to be able to supply all the components so that precision medicine can become a reality. In addition, we are very excited about digital health. Following on from 2008’s 10-year US$1 billion life sciences initiative, the current state government is rolling out a five-year half-a-billion life sciences initiative with some focus on digital health, contract manufacturing and workforce development.

Which areas of the industry specifically will the new life sciences initiative be targeting?

The initiative will be focused on early stage funding, because company creation is a priority; workforce development, because we need to maintain that world-class pipeline of talent; bio-manufacturing, of which we have seen growth but not to the degree of success we believe we can achieve; and there will also be a component to help us capitalize on convergence and advancements in digital health.

MassBio also holds an advocacy role within the industry – are there any particular improvements to be made in the operating framework?

When it comes to political advocacy, our goal is to educate policymakers about the positive impact from our industry – to patients, the state, and the health care system. And to reiterate that when industry and government work together, we can solve the biggest problems. In Massachusetts, we create over US$9.2 billion in salaries annually, so we are a driving force behind the state’s economy. The government recognizes this.

But we recognize that advocacy is not just at state capitals and in Congress. I am proud of the work we have done in patient advocacy and putting patents at the center of everything we do. We hold an annual Patient Advocacy Summit to share lessons learned in this emerging field, and we regularly work with our companies to establish patient advocacy groups within their companies.

What are the next areas of focus for facilitating industry progress?

What makes us nervous is the inability of the healthcare system to absorb and measure the costs of curative therapies – both short-term costs and long-term savings. Currently, we do not have a healthcare system; we have a sick-care system. It is designed to treat chronic sickness with therapies over the life of a patient. If we are going to live in an age of cures, we need a healthcare system and a payer system that can ensure access to these breakthroughs. The way to save money in a healthcare system is by keeping people healthy and out of hospitals and having an accounting system that tracks costs avoided when new drugs come to market. The clock is ticking, and we need to continue to work together as an industry to come up with a new system, or the government will do it for us and get it wrong. We need the payer system to innovate at the same rate at which we innovate on the discovery and manufacturing side.

MassBio has initiated a working group with payers and market access representatives from our member companies to continue to build value-based partnerships and other innovative methods of paying for new therapies. We are taking the argument of drugs being too expensive off the table; drugs save money by keeping people out of the hospital and actually only account for 12% of the total cost of healthcare. Restricting access to patients is not an option, so the only solution is to find new ways to cover the costs of these drugs.

What are the areas of focus for MassBio going forward?

Drugs and therapies invented in Massachusetts are being used by a patient population of close to two billion worldwide. MassBio’s primary focus is ensuring Massachusetts continues to be the best home for the life sciences industry, and that we have the resources to continue to innovate and serve patients. In Massachusetts, we do not do “me-too” drugs – we pride ourselves on trying to invent what is next.