With tax breaks, incentives, and spending, other cities, states, and countries are edging in on Massachusetts's claim as a leader in biotech and life sciences research, the Boston Globe reports.
California recently established a tax break that would offer companies some $200 million a year to relocate to or expand within the state. And Georgia and Florida are raising their biotech profiles. Georgia, for instance, is building a $14 million BioScience Training Center.
Meanwhile, South Korea is developing a tech and biotech research park in Seoul, and Malaysia is waiving income taxes for some biotech firms.
But the Globe says not to count Massachusetts out: analysts say its mix of academic institutions, hospitals, entrepreneurs, and venture capital give it an advantage. Further, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has some $465 million to fund grants, loans, and incentives for the next four years.
"We need to up our game if we need to stay on top," Robert Coughlin, chief executive of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, tells the Globe. "I remember when a lot of high-tech companies left for Silicon Valley. We cannot let that happen to this industry."