Connecticut’s plan to become a bioscience leader hasn’t turned heads in the industry, but leaders in the field agree the state should be commended for its efforts.
“The state of Connecticut is quite wise in investing in this sort of activity, and it will pay significant dividends,” said Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
In September, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy announced a $1.1 billion partnership with The Jackson Laboratory of Maine to build a major laboratory research space at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. In June, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized $254 million in bonds to overhaul the health center into a bioscience research hub.
The Bioscience Connecticut initiative plans to leverage research into spin-off companies and ultimately create jobs in the industry, then continue the cycle until the state becomes a major bioscience player akin to Boston, New York, California and North Carolina.
“We have all the pieces, it is just a matter of getting them in the right place,” Dr. Joseph McIsaac, chief of trauma anesthesia at Hartford Hospital and associate adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at UConn’s Graduate School. “We are on the right track.”
In October, the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford played host to the annual meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society, where a collection of researchers and officials from universities, companies and funding institutions met to talk about new developments and innovations in the industry.
Connecticut’s plans weren’t heavily discussed at the conference, and most non-participants didn’t know about the initiative.
Valtronic, an Ohio-based electronics manufacturer, provides products for companies that produce medical devices around the globe and engage in cutting-edge research. Despite having customers in 14 counties and throughout the United States, the company doesn’t get requests from anyone in Connecticut, said Patricia Klavora, marketing manager for Valtronic.
“It is a growth industry, so a lot of people are trying to get into it,” Klavora said.
However, the participants did agree that bioscience is a growing field, and Connecticut is smart trying to increase its share of the pie.
“Biomed is a top entrepreneurial field,” said Thomas Webster, engineering professor at Brown University in Providence, R.I. “You have to give support to people who are developing technology.”
Webster said New England has had a traditionally strong presence in the biomedical field because the region leverages the top-tier hospitals and universities into industry research and companies. By trying to start new companies from transitional research – as Connecticut is doing – the sector will grow and have a major impact on the economy.
One way the Bioscience Connecticut initiative is trying to leverage university research is by linking professors with industry researchers. This Collaboration of Higher Education and Medicine uses undergraduates who are taught by professors to link up with researchers in biomedical companies.
By having the undergraduates act as go-betweens, Connecticut officials hope information will pass between professors and researchers to the benefit of all, McIsaac said. Companies can learn what type of research is being performed and possibly decide to fund it.
“Hopefully, this will grow and multiply and reach the point where we can bring in large amounts of external funding,” McIsaac said.
Pettigrew, whose National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering provides funding for research, said there is a national push in the healthcare field to come up with new technologies and make them available to everyone despite their economic or geographic conditions.
“With an aging population, that comes with a variety of challenges,” Pettigrew said. “To achieve these goals requires technological innovation.”
NBIB has funded projects all over the country to achieve these goals for their healthcare field. This includes $5.2 million for projects at Yale University and the University of Connecticut for research into concepts such as measuring subunits of the human cortex, cellular transport in mucus and human epilepsy.
“What we are trying to do on a national scale sounds like what Connecticut is trying to do on a local level,” Pettigrew said. “Any state that is investing in technological innovation is making a good move for the future and rising to the challenge of the industry.”
One advantage Connecticut has over other states is its history in precision manufacturing and more than 4,500 manufacturing companies currently operating, said Terri Wilson, co-executive director of the Biomedical Engineering Alliance & Consortium in Hartford. Although Connecticut’s manufacturing companies traditionally operate in aerospace and defense subsectors, the state will be well-positioned once research starts to be commercialized and needs to be mass produced.
“Precision manufacturing for aerospace is the same skill set you need for precision manufacturing for medical devices,” Wilson said.
In its move to become a bioscience leader, Connecticut already has the universities, hospitals, material suppliers, manufacturers and finance companies needed to be successful, McIsaac said. The state needs commitment and patience for its plans to be fruitful.
“All of this stuff is going to be long-term,” McIsaac said. “It will take 10-20 years.”
Reporter Greg Bordonaro contributed to this story.
