Splice and run

Part 4

Kristen Lombardi

Worcester must pick up the pieces

WBDC executives and biotech insiders are unwilling to toss Worcester's biotechnology effort aside. For one thing, say experts, the field is too novel to have made a significant economic impact here. Biotechnology has been recognized as a profitable industry in, at most, the past 20 years. Although more biotech companies blossom and then dwindle, experts agree that firms continue to plug along with research in all facets -- and that some growth is inevitable.

"Biotechnology may not be the growth engine everyone once thought it would be, but a lot of advancements continue to be made," says Easson.

Besides, all those advantages Worcester gambled on for success still exist. The UMass Medical Center (which stands in the top 20 percent in the nation for funded medical research) boasts a library, faculty expertise, and a 371-bed teaching hospital. WPI has its specialized biotech and chemical-engineering programs. The Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research is at the forefront of human-fertility research. And Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, in Grafton, is the only such school in New England.

And then Worcester has certain quality-of-life advantages as well. Traffic here seems less intense than other metropolitan areas. No real prospect of sitting bumper-to-bumper in Worcester. Insiders also agree housing here is more affordable than it is elsewhere, and Worcester Public Schools provide a good education.

"We don't have the glamor of Cambridge's intellectual community," says Anderson. "But there are counter factors here that are just as important. We were naïve in thinking we could market ourselves without having to worry about competition."

Even with this optimism, insiders aren't fully content with what has transpired thus far. WBDC has hired biotech consultants from Kendall Strategies, in Cambridge, to assist it in a sort of self-analysis, prompted mainly by current vacancies. Ultimately, WBDC aims to tackle the question of Worcester's ability to sustain the industry.

"Our intent is to revisit the Worcester biotech effort to determine if we're on the right track," says Andrews. The analysis marks the first time WBDC has considered the viability of the park since its inception. "Many of the original players are reconvening to determine if there are more appropriate steps to take."

The Kendall report, expected in September, will examine the park's assets and the city's market. It will also tackle Worcester's outsider image, by interviewing biotech executives, investors, and employees to pinpoint "perception and reality," says Andrews.

"We want to look at whether companies really need to be in Cambridge. Do their investors want them there, or is it a convenience thing?" he continues.

"Out of this will come strategies to implement a course of action. There is no doubt we've chosen to focus on a very risky business, but we're choosing to look at recent tenant turnover as an opportunity rather than a problem," says Andrews.

To describe biotech as a risk seems an understatement. It takes an outfit making products for human use about a decade to develop a drug and then commercialize it. Cheetham of WPI, estimates most companies invest more than $200 million in testing, trials, and the Federal Drug Administration's licensing process before a product ever reaches the commercial stage.

"It is a huge investment. If your product fails, then you fail with it," he adds.

Thus far, says Cheetham, biotechnology has been a disappointment. Few start-ups have expanded, matured, and become stable. Observers see an increasing number of smaller companies being absorbed by larger ones. And a fair amount of start-ups turn into unfulfilled dreams.

Part 5

Kristen Lombardi can be reached at klombardi[a]phx.com.