From the Desk of Kenn Turner

Toward a New Level of Excellence

Dear Colleagues:

I write to you approaching year two at the helm of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). If I could describe my current state of mind after 20-plus months with one word, it would be…gratitude. Specifically, I am grateful for the honor of a lifetime to serve as president and CEO of the MLSC. I am grateful for the multitude of external partners we have across the life sciences. I am of course grateful and indebted to my talented and dedicated team members.

I am also grateful for your interest in learning more about our impact as an organization from this past fiscal year. It is hard to encapsulate who we are and what we do into one data point or metric, or a single publication. For me, it all comes down to our central strategy of supporting the discovery, development, and cultivation of the life sciences ecosystem across Massachusetts.

Under my leadership, the Center has implemented a strategic framework that will enable us to reach a new level of excellence for our organization and our Commonwealth. This framework has three main pillars: Innovation, Business Development, and Regionalization. This framework lays out a robust vision. Let me assure you, I am bullish that my team and I, along with our dynamic partners across the ecosystem, are ready to meet the moment.

Just this past year, we endeavored to begin accomplishing many of our shared goals, running numerous programs and initiatives, representing more than $80 million. We’ve supported more than 5,000 internship opportunities. Our Tax Incentive program is set to help create 10,000-plus jobs. And our capital programming remains the envy of the nation, driving innovation from Boston to the Berkshires.

Make no mistake, our mission to support the preeminence of the life sciences in Massachusetts, must continue to be realized, to the benefit of our residents here in the Commonwealth and to patients around the world. From economic development to job creation, to changing the complexion of what our industry looks like, we have much to be proud of, but the work is just beginning.

What was true at the time of our founding holds true now more than ever before—breakthrough science, which has the power to change lives and improve patient outcomes, must be matched by bold and strategic commitment and action by government.

We are in the business of bold. We are ready for the next chapter of the life sciences in Massachusetts.

I hope you enjoy this year’s annual report. Please reach out to my team and me to further engage as we endeavor to reach new heights.

Kenn Turner
President and CEO
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

The Next Chapter Begins

To continue driving Massachusetts to a leadership position within life sciences, in the spring of 2021, President Turner and the MLSC team engaged key external partners to develop a strategic framework. Project objectives included: 1.) clarifying the MLSC’s core value proposition to help ensure the Center remains in a strong position to support economic development and job growth in the dynamic life sciences industry in Massachusetts and 2.) developing a succinct statement of the strategy and priorities for the MLSC’s leadership.

In early FY22, the MLSC finalized its strategic framework process. The three key pillars of the strategy include:

Innovation: Supporting key areas such as the next generation of technologies, entrepreneurs, and opportunities for the Center and the Commonwealth to lead.

Business Development: Helping attract, grow, and retain life science companies, while also raising awareness about the robustness of the Massachusetts ecosystem.

Regionalization: Prioritizing geographic equity, and leveraging regional assets of the various life science clusters throughout the Commonwealth, and continuing to drive new and ongoing clusters.

The foundational pieces catalyzing this framework are workforce and diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a laser focus on leveraging the opportunity that can be offered to us in an area such as biomanufacturing and helping companies bring their product to the market. Finally, the Center’s efforts are underpinned by making data driven

decisions on its funding, leveraging the power to collaborate and convene, and the continuation of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative.

Upon finalizing the strategic framework, President Turner and his team began raising awareness and implementing the roadmap for the Center with key partners and at significant convenings held throughout the Commonwealth. This community engagement continues into the present to ensure the Center’s strategic outlook is embraced and crystalized.