By Susan Windham-Bannister, president & CEO, Mass. Life Sciences Center
Lots of highlights from the second full day of the BIO International 2010 convention, led by an important press announcement in the Massachusetts pavilion: sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, entered into an investment partnership with the Mass. Life Sciences Center by joining our Corporate Consortium Program. Sanofi-aventis will contribute $500,000 over the next two years to support the center’s investments in early-stage companies. This will increase the Center’s capacity for investment through our Accelerator loan program in early-stage companies, including medical device start-ups. Sanofi-aventis is the second member of our Corporate Consortium Program, joining charter member Johnson & Johnson.
At the press conference, Dr. Paul Chew, chief science officer and chief medical officer for sanofi-aventis, said, “As a global healthcare company, sanofi-aventis is looking to expand our research & development partnering activities to accelerate the discovery and development of new molecules and vaccines to improve patients’ lives. Early-stage life science companies are a major source of innovation in developing health solutions, and partnerships like the Corporate Consortium are a foundation for progress. Massachusetts is home to a world-renowned life science and research community; we are proud to be a part of that community and to support cutting-edge developments and scientific breakthroughs.”
These major global companies are investing in Massachusetts because of our world-renowned innovation pipeline. By joining the Consortium, they get an early look at the promising young companies that are developing new technologies in the Commonwealth, with an eye toward investment in the most promising among them. We look forward to a long and fruitful investment partnership with these companies, and anticipate announcing additional new partners in the months ahead.
Yesterday also featured a full schedule of business development meetings, including Global Connect sessions with international companies sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, and scores of productive conversations with visitors to the pavilion about what Massachusetts has to offer. The Pavilion was “buzzing” all day! Lots of interest in the Bay State.