Support WBUR
Boston's Morning Newsletter
A bad year for Mass.'s biopharma sector, by the numbers
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It's a good day to get outside — maybe even to see an outdoor movie (more on that in a second). But first, let's get to the news:
Clouds over Cambridge: After steady growth, Massachusetts' biopharma sector is experiencing job loss and investment lows not seen in years, according to a new report released today by the trade group MassBio. "Part of it is a natural reset after peak years," MassBio spokesperson Ben Bradford told WBUR's Zeninjor Enwemeka. But, he added, "there's a lot of uncertainty" in the once-booming industry due to economic conditions, compounded by policy changes by the Trump administration. "Investors are being a little more cautious than they had in the past," he said. Click here to read Zeninjor's full story on the annual "snapshot," or scroll below for a breakdown by the numbers:
- $2.75 billion: The amount of venture capital money Massachusetts-based biotech companies got in the first half of this year. That may sound like a lot, but it's a 17% drop compared to the first half of 2024 and the lowest amount since 2017. (For comparison, the number was $8.5 billion in the first half of 2021.)
- 1,101: The decline in the number of biotech research and development jobs in Massachusetts last year (from 66,554 to 65,453). The state's overall number of biopharma jobs held steady at around 117,000 in 2024. But the downward trend is expected this year, amid reports of thousands of additional layoffs. Bradford attributes the decline in R&D jobs to early-stage companies not getting as much funding as they did during the pandemic-era peak, and sometimes closing. "This is an inherently risky industry, where nine out of 10 drugs fail," he said.
- 28%: The current lab vacancy rate in Massachusetts, up from just 1.3% in 2021. That includes a 23% vacancy rate in Cambridge and 38% in Boston. It also comes after the amount of lab space in Massachusetts tripled over the past decade.
- 1: How many Massachusetts-based biopharma companies have gone public this year. That's compared to six last year, and about 15 a year from 2015 to 2021. Getting that cycle spinning again is key for the industry's health, according to Bradford. "If we get those exits, the expectation is that investors will reinvest those dollars into new, exciting companies or follow-on funding for companies that have already received a Series A [funding round]," he said.
- 23%: The percentage of overall VC funding in the biopharma sector that has gone to Massachusetts-based companies this year. That's behind only California, which got 45%. (No other state got more than 4%.) Bradford says it's a sign the state is well-positioned for a rebound. "Massachusetts still has great science happening here [and] really smart people working in this industry," he said.
- Listen: Last week, more than 500 biotech students and business leaders gathered on a Boston Harbor island to discuss the challenges facing the industry. MassLive columnist Scott Kirsner joined WBUR's Morning Edition to share the takeaways.
Rough seas: Hurricane Erin may be long gone, but the search continues for a Massachusetts boater who went missing amid the rough ocean conditions the storm churned up along the coast. Officials say a boat with two people in it capsized off Salisbury Beach on Saturday. The 47-foot boat's owner was rescued, but State Police and the Coast Guard are still looking for a man in his 50s who was onboard.
- While the hurricane never made landfall in the United States, its strong rip currents resulted in at least two drowning deaths along the East Coast this past weekend — including a 17-year-old boy at New Hampshire's Hampton Beach.
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Burlington Public Schools over a "sensitive" survey some parents found inappropriate. The department said Monday it's looking into allegations the school system did not comply with parents' requests to opt their children out of the district-wide survey, which contained questions on students' drug and alcohol use, sexual activity and gender identity.
- In a statement to WBUR, the Burlington Superintendent Eric Conti said the district will "cooperate fully" with the investigation. Conti said the district already terminated its contract with the company that drafted the survey last winter, and the School Committee voted that no new student surveys be administered until a new policy is written and approved. On its website, the district admitted "there were areas for improvement, particularly in the opt-out process."
P.S.— You can still get tickets to tonight's fifth annual "Cemetery Cinema" event at Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery. The unique outdoor double feature — set among centuries-old trees, monuments and gravestones — will show "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Gates of Heaven," at 8 p.m. Bring a chair and blanket.
