How Boston became a 'biotech hub'

A bonus episode of the I am BIO Podcast explores how Boston became a biotech hub—and how you can get in on the action. Plus, climate change is affecting our sleep in more ways than one—here’s what biotech can do about it. (632 words, 3 minutes, 9 seconds)

How Boston became a ‘biotech hub’

As we prepare for the 2023 BIO International Convention in just a few weeks in Boston, today’s bonus episode of the I am BIO Podcast explores how the city became “the world’s biggest biotech hub.”

It’s in the DNA: In 1977, the Cambridge City Council was the first to pass local legislation allowing research of recombinant DNA. Biogen was founded in 1978, and Genzyme launched in 1981.

The world’s first biotech trade organization MassBIO launched in 1985, MassBIO CEO Kendalle Burlin O’Connell tells the podcast: “That was really the start of what is now called the most innovative square mile on the planet.” 

Today: Nearly 1,000 biotech companies in Greater Boston alone employ more than 100,000 people.

Biotech boom: The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center was created in 2007, and other state initiatives since have invested more than $1.5 billion in biotech. Massachusetts biotech drew nearly $9 billion in private venture capital and $3.2 billion in National Institutes of Health funding in 2022.

The impact: Massachusetts produces “about 15% of the U.S. drug development pipeline, and 7% of the global drug development pipeline,” says O’Connell.

Get in on the action: The BIO International Convention takes place June 5-8 at the Boston Convention Center, bringing together 15,000 biotech leaders for more than 45,000 face-to-face partnering meetings and 140 panel sessions.

Get the details and register today.

Listen at www.bio.org/podcast.

More Health News: 

UN: World must be ready to respond to next pandemic, says WHO
“The end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency is not the end of COVID-19 as a global health threat,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the 76th World Health Assembly. “The threat of another variant emerging that causes new surges of disease and death remains, and the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains.”

Climate change keeps us up nights

Even if you don’t stay up worrying about climate change, higher temperatures may be ruining your sleep and harming your mental health. 

What they’re saying: “When the temperature spikes, so too do suicide rates, crime, and violence,” and even hateful tweets on Twitter, explains Time Magazine. “Much of that can be traced back to sleep.”

The cost: around 44 hours of sleep annually and “by 2100, individuals worldwide could lose about 50 to 58 hours of sleep per year,” says The Washington Post. And, while the highest temperatures are reached during the day, night temperatures are rising at a faster rate.

Physiological impacts: “Lack of sleep has been associated with reduced cognitive performance, diminished productivity, compromised immune function, adverse cardiovascular outcomes,” says a 2022 study finding climate change causes sleep loss.

We know climate change harms human health—including mental health and the health and well-being of children.

We’ll say it again: Biotech solutions, like sustainable aviation fuel and biomanufacturing and agricultural practices with lower emissions, can address climate change.

Policy can advance these tools: The Biden administration’s SAF Grand Challenge encourages the production of 3 billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030. The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for SAF. And USDA is seeking to support the bioeconomy through agriculture policy. (BIO backs these and continued policy efforts to enable biotech solutions for climate.)

President Biden’s Tuesday: No official events, but his team will continue debt ceiling negotiations; he’s expected to discuss the issue with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, per The Washington Post.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House Oversight Committee hearing on “The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part I: Self-Interest or Health Care?” looks at how “Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ anticompetitive tactics are driving up health care costs for Americans and harming patient care,” and the need for transparency, Chair James Comer (R-KY) says. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology holds a hearing on USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency.