World’s first profitable regenerative medicine company to grow in Massachusetts due to state’s newly unveiled life science initiative
CANTON – Thursday, May 31, 2007 – Governor Deval Patrick announced today, with the support of Senate President Therese Murray and alongside House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Organogenesis’ CEO Geoff MacKay and dozens of Organogenesis employees that the Massachusetts-based company, which was once planning to expand its operations outside of the state, has decided instead to stay and grow in Massachusetts. Organogenesis, the world’s first profitable regenerative medicine company, made the commitment to stay in the Commonwealth as a result of Governor Patrick’s $1 billion life science initiative, which was announced at this year’s international BIO 2007 convention in Boston.
“I am pleased that Organogenesis has decided to stay and expand upon its success here in Massachusetts, and proud of our team for working so hard and so well to make this partnership work,” said Governor Patrick.
“Regenerative medicine, which was both invented and pioneered in Massachusetts, is the most exciting and prominent frontier in healthcare. The success of this new field is directly dependent on positive governmental policies, and Governor Patrick has taken the necessary steps in this direction with an unprecedented commitment to both industry and academic institutions,” said Organogenesis CEO Geoff MacKay.
“This is exactly the kind of positive and immediate response that we had hoped to see after we announced the Commonwealth’s commitment to help expand this segment of our innovative economy,” said Murray. “I am thrilled that Organogenesis will continue to headquarter here and provide new jobs.”
“The decision by Organogenesis to keep their home in Massachusetts is yet another sign of good things to come for our thriving life science industry,” said DiMasi. “Today’s announcement shows the climate for doing business in Massachusetts is improving and that we must continue to do all we can to help companies keep jobs here, expand here and move here.”
Canton-based Organogenesis is the world’s leading regenerative medicine company and delivers living cell therapy “on demand” to medical clinics. Regenerative medicine is the process of creating living, functional cells and tissues, to repair or replace organ function lost due to disease, damage or even the natural aging process. Organogenesis’ signature product, Apligraf®, is the first bio-engineered cell therapy to have received FDA approval, and is used by doctors successfully in treating patients in the US and other markets across the world. Currently a patient is treated with an Apligraf® living cell therapy every 10 minutes in the United States. This constitutes over two-thirds of all living cell therapies applied to patients worldwide.
Organogenesis had been planning to expand its operations outside of Massachusetts, seeking a business climate that would be more favorable toward regenerative medicine. As a direct result of Governor Patrick’s Life Sciences Initiative, however, Organogenesis has decided to maintain its headquarters in Massachusetts. The company also will initiate an aggressive expansion of its global head office, research, development and manufacturing facilities within the state. Organogenesis will add 300 new highly skilled jobs, thereby doubling its existing employee base and expanding its facilities to 250,000 square feet.
The Governor’s plan, unveiled on May 8 during a speech at the BIO 2007 convention, includes a 10-year, $1 billion investment package that will both enhance the Commonwealth’s already nationally recognized assets in the fields of medicine and science, and fill gaps in federal funding to ensure the state’s ability to support life science progress from the idea stage through the production and commercialization stages. Key to the Governor’s Life Science Initiative is new legislation that will strengthen the Massachusetts Life Science Center and charge it with the execution of a life science mission focused on science and economic development, strategic investments at critical stages of the development cycle, and collaboration with the private sector to create innovation infrastructure critical to both researchers and companies.
“The reality is that the regenerative medicine field is highly competitive. Without government ensuring a positive business climate, the innovation, the jobs and ultimately life altering therapies like those involving stem cells, will move to other parts of the world,” said MacKay. “The Governor’s plan will solidify this state as the place where all this great science is translated into therapies benefiting patients.”
The Massachusetts Office of Business Development worked closely with Organogenesis to create a $12.9 million incentive package that includes grants as well as support for when the company identifies its expansion site. In addition, the state has facilitated $5 million in low-interest loans for growth initiatives. The proposed Life Sciences Initiatives also levels the tax playing field for all regenerative medicine companies when compared to nearby states.
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