Michigan has a rich legacy in the life sciences sector, but how can you remain competitive with the San Diegos and the Bostons of the world?
Many flyover states in the Midwest suffer from this and Michigan's legacy often flies under the radar compared to more prominent hubs, despite having a comprehensive ecosystem capable of taking ideas to market, especially in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Our state boasts a powerful STEM talent pipeline, significant life science R&D funding, and the largest federally funded R&D life sciences innovation engine in the country. Collectively our three major research universities brought up $1.8bn last year, most of which is geared towards life sciences. The State of Michigan through its Michigan Economic Development Corporation put several programs and resources in place to incentivize commercialization and company formation to ensure there's going to be a robust future for the industry.
Given Michigan’s reputation for world-class education with Ann Arbor often referred to as the education capital of the midwest, what initiatives are you putting in place to develop the life sciences workforce?
Our focus at MichBio isn’t directly on developing workforce initiatives, but rather on advocating and supporting innovative programs that our partners run. In the late 2000s when there was some consolidation in the pharma sector, a fund was created to help keep high-paying jobs and have staff moved to other smaller companies that couldn't afford the higher salaries. It incentivized people to stay in the state, and those companies have since grown. We’re pushing for apprenticeship programs in biomanufacturing, quality and compliance, and clinical trials. Michigan is one of the largest clinical trial states in the country - it's a multi-billion dollar enterprise. There's no shortage of jobs, the hard part is convincing talent that they will have a better livelihood and cost of living here compared to other notable hubs.
How has the Covid pandemic shaped Michigan’s bio-industry?
Michigan played a crucial role during the pandemic, we were the only state producing four out of five of approved Covid vaccines - Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Novavax, and GSK were all being manufactured here. Everything ramped up here like I had never seen before, and the industry hardly had a blip of disruption. It was in the eye of the storm and helped provide many life-saving treatments and continues its supply chain to the global markets. Overall growth has been good and fueled by the pandemic. The average salary here is over $100,000 - that’s the kind of talent and economics that any region would desire.
You’ve described the challenges you faced in 2022 as ‘relentless’ and ‘unprecedented’. How would you characterize the challenges you faced in 2023?
In 2023, a multitude of challenges came to a head. People became more intrigued by our industry after Covid, which you think would be a good thing in the long run, but it brought to light misinformation and unfavorable attitudes towards the industry - from anti-vaccines, anti-public health, and the use of animals in research. These issues coupled with political circumstances have led to firefighting that persists to this day. We've been trying to educate and inform elected officials about our industry, hosting events like the Life Sciences Legislative Academy to bridge gaps between industry realities and policy-making.
2024 is a big election year in the US. When you are speaking to policymakers, what is your top priority?
Our top priority in Michigan has been to re-establish an R&D tax credit for nearly 15 years. This is crucial for our competitiveness in the global life sciences marketplace, especially for early-stage companies.
Nationally, we're addressing the Research and Development Tax Amortization issue, which impacts companies' ability to fund R&D due to tax changes. The Inflation Reduction Act has presented challenges, particularly affecting drug pricing and innovation. We're advocating for adjustments to these policies, hoping for resolutions before the election season diverts attention away. But there's no shortage of issues that we keep talking to policymakers about.
So many life science companies are doing great work in Michigan, but are there any that stand out as doing particularly exciting work right now?
Several companies are making significant strides in Michigan’s bioscience sector, like Vesperon with its novel biopesticide derived from spider venom, ONL Therapeutics in the ocular space, and Functional Fluidics focusing on diagnostics for sickle cell anemia. Moreover, expansions by Pfizer, Stryker, and other firms demonstrate growth across the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Michigan is a significant player in these industries, reflected in our employment numbers and facility count, showcasing our impact and the dynamic nature of our state's bioscience community.
