by Timothy P. Murray, President & CEO, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
AbbVie’s recent announcement that they intend to make a major investment with a 55,000 square foot expansion at their Worcester campus, which anchors Worcester’s UMass Biotech Science Park on Belmont and Plantation is a major victory for Worcester and the region. At a time when the life sciences industry is retrenching and facing headwinds due to various economic uncertainties, AbbVie’s expansion demonstrates confidence in its exceptional local workforce and in the life sciences ecosystem that has been created in Worcester. The ecosystem is the result of decades of work by business, government, healthcare, and academic leaders spanning several decades in making Central Mass a life sciences, biotech, and biomanufacturing hub.
AbbVie’s financial investment will add to its current employee count of approximately 1,200 and continue its research, development, and biomanufacturing operations on the Worcester campus. Worcester’s workforce, which has been recognized as the 15th best life sciences workforce cluster in the country by CBRE, a real estate services company for the life science industry, is a major plus in recruiting companies and investment dollars to Central Mass. It is critical for education and business leaders at all levels to continue to grow and diversify this workforce, which has added jobs and economic vibrancy to the region.
AbbVie’s presence in Worcester dates back to BASF, which opened in 1989 and was later acquired by AbbVie’s predecessor, Abbott Laboratories. This is a perfect example of a ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy. “Building” includes workforce development as well as the building of new facilities and labs with steel, brick, and mortar. Our colleges and universities, voke tech schools, high schools, and workforce training programs all play significant roles in this regard.
This year, the Chamber is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and Abbvie’s presence is part of that history. The Chamber, alongside its sister organization, the Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, led the effort, together with city, state, and federal officials, to build the “Biotech Park” and recruit BASF from Germany to Worcester in the mid-1980s.
To complement this effort, the Chamber also helped launch Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) to foster and assist life sciences start-up companies as they grow and scale in Central Mass. MBI, in fact, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
AbbVie’s continued presence, coupled with decades of collaboration between government, business, academic, and healthcare leadership at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Healthcare, has helped spawn a vital sector of the regional economy. The life sciences and biomanufacturing sector has created thousands of jobs for area residents while providing cures and therapies for individuals and families facing various healthcare challenges. Central to this effort locally has been Worcester’s Economic Development Coordinating Council, which includes the City of Worcester, WBDC, MBI, and the Chamber, along with our state and federal legislative delegation, in making the case to AbbVie’s leadership that Worcester was eager for their continued growth and investment.
The EDCC also worked with the city council as well as state and federal partners to establish the 46 acre Reactory biomanufacturing park next to Abbvie, which now houses the $300 million WuXi Biologics facility, their first manufacturing facility in the United States.
AbbVie’s expansion is evidence that by working together in collaborative spirit to build on Worcester’s and our region’s strengths is the best path forward to grow jobs in the life science and biomanufacturing sector.
