Massachusetts is home to the #1 life sciences cluster in the world. Companies here enjoy a number of advantages including:
- A thriving life sciences community
- The most highly educated workforce in the United States
- Universities and hospitals that are global leaders in life sciences research
- Access to an impressive array of economic development programs that support large and small biotechnology companies
- Tax benefits for workforce training, infrastructure, equipment, and construction financing
- A supportive government
Massachusetts has pre-permitted land sites and available office and laboratory space. If you are looking for shared laboratory and/or office space, take a look at Massachusetts Incubators.
MassBio provides expert advice and guidance to help companies find suitable locations and resources as they move to and grow in the Commonwealth. We make Massachusetts a better place for your business.
Massachusetts Resources
Massachusetts doesn’t take its position as the leading life sciences industry cluster in the world for granted. Every day Massachusetts works strategically and at ground level to ensure that the forces that created the Massachusetts life sciences cluster – its universities, highly skilled workforce, and medical community – continue to support the growth of the industry. Massachusetts offers an impressive array of incentives for life sciences companies across the business life cycle spectrum to grow and thrive.
Our job is to help educate you about the state programs and provide you with a trusted industry advocate, with comprehensive knowledge of the Massachusetts economic development landscape, to assist you as you begin to grow your business in Massachusetts. Contact Ben Bradford to learn more about the many state incentives available in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is quasi-state economic development and investment agency with a mission of supporting the growth and development of the life sciences in Massachusetts. The MLSC’s portfolio of programs has strategically deployed more than $700 million in Massachusetts, through a combination of grants, loans, capital infrastructure investments, tax incentives, and workforce programs.
Internship Challenge – The Internship Challenge is a workforce development program that facilitates and funds paid internship opportunities with a focus on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts companies engaged in life sciences. The program connects employers with prospective interns through an online platform and reimburses eligible companies and research institutions for intern stipends.
Tax Incentive Program – The Tax Incentive program is offered to companies engaged in life sciences research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing in Massachusetts. The program provides incentives to companies of all sizes looking to expand their businesses by creating new, long-term jobs in Massachusetts.
Seed Fund – Individual investments of up to $250,000 in convertible notes will be awarded to life sciences start-ups, and up to $1 million of capital investment is available for the first year.
Bits to Bytes – Provide grants for capital projects that generate and analyze large datasets to answer pressing life science questions, and to attract and train data scientists in the Commonwealth.
Building Breakthroughs – Provides grants for capital projects that support biomanufacturing innovation, including improvements to upstream/downstream processing, production of cell and gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecules, quality and safety, and storage/stability, in the Commonwealth.
For more information on these and all of the MLSC’s programs, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
General Massachusetts State Incentives
Workforce Training Fund (WTF) – Provides grants up to $100,000 to improve the skills of new or incumbent workers. The WTF Express program offers grants of up to $15,000 for “off-the-shelf” worker training programs approved by the state. The Hiring Incentive Training Grant provides up to $2,000 in training funds for hiring eligible unemployed workers.
Investment Tax Credit (ITC) – A 3% ITC for investments in tangible depreciable assets to all state manufacturers. Massachusetts also provides a Sales & Use Tax Exemption for manufacturers and companies engaged in R&D.
Economic Development Incentive Program – Offers incentives in several ways:
- In municipalities that are Economic Target Areas, expansions can be assisted with locally-approved Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreements which are exemptions on the value added to a property in the expansion and a state-approved 3-5% Investment Tax Credit.
- For projects that result in 100 or more new jobs (Enhanced Expansion Projects), companies can be approved by the state for the Investment Tax Credits of up to 10%, without the need for any local approvals.
- For projects in select “Gateway Communities” that create 100+ jobs, companies can pursue both a local TIF agreement and state-approved Investment Tax Credits of up to 10%. Manufacturing retention projects can receive up to a 40%.
Research and Development Tax Credit – Costs that qualify for the Federal R&D tax credit are eligible for a 10% Massachusetts R&D Tax Credit. A 15% R&D Tax Credit is available for costs related to university-based research.
Single Sales Tax Treatment – Provides a significant, relative advantage to Massachusetts manufacturers with multi-state operations. It apportions corporate income based solely on the ratio of in-state sales to total sales. Other states often use three factors – including wages and property – and double or triple weight in-state sales.
Financing – MassDevelopment, the state’s economic development bank, provides an array of financing tools to assist growing companies. The Emerging Technology Fund can provide up to $2.5 million in low-cost financing to eligible technology-based firms. MassDevelopment provides export assistance loans, equipment loans, and guarantees to growing manufacturers and is the state’s purveyor of Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bonds.
Infrastructure Grants – Municipalities can seek grant funds to assist with the costs of roadway, water and sewer projects associated with job creation projects through the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.
For more information on how to access these programs and incentives, contact Ben Bradford.
BioReady® Communities
- Platinum
- Gold
- Silver
- Bronze
From biotech-zoned science parks, to streamlined permitting, to robust infrastructure, and pre-permitted biotech sites, Massachusetts has it all for companies looking to relocate.
Because of the state’s rich history in biotechnology, many of its cities and towns have increasingly adopted local policies that greatly ease the pathway for renovation or new construction of biotech laboratory and manufacturing facilities.
MassBio has developed BioReady ratings for municipalities who submit details on their zoning practices and infrastructure capacity. Our focus with these ratings is to help biotechnology companies find the most favorable destinations in the state and to enable the state and its cities and towns to effectively tell their stories to the biotechnology industry. BioReady-rated cities and towns have made a commitment to the life sciences industry. There are currently 84 BioReady Communities across the Commonwealth. Learn more about our BioReady Communities here.