Investment in bioscience paying dividends

Jackson Laboratory had committed to employing a minimum of 300 people. Today, 385 people are employed at the laboratory.

I n 2011 the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, then newly elected, made a commitment to providing incentives to begin building an economy for the 21st century, with among its primary focuses bioscience research. We editorially backed the endeavor.

As Malloy completes his second and final term, the investment is paying off.

Among the most controversial and exciting undertakinings was the incentive package the administration put together to convince the Jackson Laboratory to construct its Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine adjacent to the 17-acre University of Connecticut Health Center campus in Farmington.

This past week state officials announced that in just four years the laboratory has surpassed the 10-year goals it had to achieve to receive the full benefits of the incentive program. Jackson Laboratory had committed to employing a minimum of 300 people, with at least 30 percent providing salaries at or above 125 percent of the state average. Today, 385 people are employed at the laboratory, including 29 research faculty, and salary requirements have been far exceeded.

The state approved a $291 million incentive package in 2012, including a $99 million grant and $125 million in loans. By meeting the agreed goals, Jackson Laboratory will end up seeing 86 percent of the loans forgiven.

The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine works in partnership with state universities and hospitals. Its 183,500-square-foot Genomic Medicine facility opened in the fall of 2014. The goal of its research is to understand the genetic causes of disease and develop genomic solutions tailored to each person’s unique genetic makeup.

Seen in isolation, the argument could be made that the investment was too great to encourage a single development. But viewed in the larger context of the administration’s effort to build the state bioscience research industry, it should be considered as a success that should keep paying dividends.

According to the Department of Economic and Community Development, about 85,000 new, well-paying jobs have been created. Eighteen bioscience or related technology companies have filled the Cell and Genome Science Building on UConn’s health center campus in Farmington, for example. These are a direct result of the pollination of the Jackson Laboratory research.

Jackson Laboratory President and CEO Edison Liu said his company is looking for places to expand operations and promised it would be “only in Connecticut.” Given the state’s investment in making the genomic medicine research facility in Farmington possible, we would hope Liu would make good on that commitment.

The increased activity in Connecticut persuaded the Milken Institute to move the state from 9th to 6th in its State Technology and Science Index ratings. The bioscience sector employs about 25,000 people in the state.

It will be up to the next administration to build on the progress and provide the business climate that will encourage further expansion of the genomic research field here in Connecticut. The state now has a record of achievement and a story to tell.