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Study Traces Impact of Government-Funded MIT Research on Biotechnology and Drugs, MIT News Release, January 22, 1996
APPENDIX: MIT-Related Biotechnology Companies
Biotechnology has been called the next industrial revolution. By the year 2000, just 25 years after its inception, it is estimated that biotechnology will be a $30-$50 billion industry, employing 200,000 people in more than 1,000 companies in the United States. It has emerged as a key industry that strengthens U. S. competitiveness in an increasingly global economy, with applications in pharmaceuticals, environmental technology, energy, advanced materials, agriculture and other sectors. Furthermore, biotechnology affects the quality of life for millions of Americans, through the development of vaccines, diagnostic tests and drugs that treat major diseases like cancer, heart disease and AIDS. New therapeutic approaches like gene therapy hold the promise for dramatic advances in the fight against human disease.
The development of the U. S. biotechnology industry is the result of a partnership of the Federal government, research universities and biotechnology companies. The Government provides crucial funding for basic biological research in universities, approving research proposals based on scientific merit and peer review. University research, in turn, provides the scientific basis for the development of life-saving medical products by biotechnology companies.
MIT has had a profound impact on the biotechnology industry and continues to lead it forward in many dimensions. This follows an illustrious tradition of scientific, engineering and manufacturing advances from MIT that have shaped the country's industrial and technological base for more than a century. MIT scientists pioneered advances in metallurgy and food preservation in the 19th century. MIT-developed technologies strengthened key industries throughout the 20th century, including steel, energy, computers, software, aerospace and many others. MIT has now become a world leader of teaching and research in biotechnology, one of the crucial growth industries of the 21st century.
As a potential new economic engine for the country and as a source of important medical advances, biotechnology may be essential to the economic vitality and well-being of the next generation of Americans. This report, by Institute research staff, discusses one university's myriad influences on the U.S. biotechnology industry - in science, technology, engineering, and management - and the economic and societal impact that research has on the nation.
MIT scientists have done pioneering work in molecular biology and genetic engineering, the basis of biotechnology, and in closely related fields such as immunology, virology and genetics. They and other MIT scientists:
MIT and MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research scientists are leaders in new and cutting edge areas of biological research with direct applications to biotechnology, such as human genome research, structural biology and tumor suppresser genes. They:
An important MIT mission in the post-Cold War period and heading into the 21st century is to help the United States maintain its economic competitiveness. Through collaborative partnerships with industry and government, MIT helped create the biotechnology industry and strengthens U. S. leadership in this key industry of the future.
The federal government sponsors basic scientific research in biology at MIT; MIT in turn helps strengthen U. S. competitiveness in global biotechnology. MIT contributions:
Scientific and technological advances from MIT are transferred directly to the U. S. biotechnology industry, by means of:
For the past five years, MIT has been awarded more than 100 patents per year, more than any other single university. Technology transfer from MIT to the biotechnology industry is substantial:
One measure of MIT's impact on the biotechnology industry is the impressive number of biotechnology companies its alumni and faculty have founded*. This is true in the country as a whole, but particularly so in Massachusetts:
The scientific development of biotechnology in the last three decades includes more important research advances from MIT, it is believed, than from any other research institution.
Biotechnology is the product of a revolution in modern biology that has thrust the life sciences into the forefront of scientific discovery in the last quarter-century. MIT faculty and research scientists have played a major role in its development. They have done seminal work in the fields of molecular biology and genetic engineering, the basis of biotechnology. Ongoing innovative research at MIT in molecular and cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, and immunology continues to strengthen the field of biotechnology and provide the fundamental scientific tools that will help shape the world of the future.
From the beginnings of molecular biology in the 1940s and 1950s through key breakthroughs in recombinant DNA technology in the 1960s and 1970s, to cutting-edge research today in such promising fields as human genome mapping and gene therapy, MIT scientists have amassed a distinguished cumulative record of research and discovery in biotechnology. The scientific development of biotechnology in the last three decades includes more important research advances from MIT, it is believed, than from any other research institution.
MIT scientists achieved a series of remarkable discoveries in the early years of the biotechnology era. They solved complex problems at the molecular level and created a set of tools for a new science. A summary of their achievements follows:
Recent research advances in molecular biology and genetics at MIT and the world-renowned Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is affiliated with MIT in its teaching activities, have significant potential applications in biotechnology.
The advances, which include those from the MIT Center for Cancer Research, have led to a better understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of cancer, and to major advances in gene therapy, transgenic science, genome research and a structural biology approach to drug design, among many other areas. The new findings will lead to the development of new and better biotechnology tools to fight cancer, AIDS and other diseases. Whitehead Institute and MIT scientists have:
MIT scientists have recently identified or helped identify several altered genes which are directly linked to specific diseases. This will lead to therapeutic approaches that will target diseases caused by the defective genes. They:
MIT is on the cutting edge of research which holds the promise for dramatic advances in the fight against human disease. The new research will be used in the continued development of traditional biotechnology tools, such as genetically engineered vaccines and proteins, and in advanced approaches like gene therapy and structural biology, to identify, target and treat diseases.
Three promising areas of biological research in which MIT and the Whitehead Institute play a leading role include:
Through collaborative partnerships with industry and government, MIT plays a major role in strengthening the U. S. biotechnology industry.
An important MIT mission in the post-Cold War period and heading into the 21st century is to help the United States maintain its economic competitiveness in an increasingly global arena. For much of this century, MIT has played a vital role in strengthening U. S. economic competitiveness through alliances with industry and the federal government. MIT's close links with General Electric, for example, contributed to early research and development in industrial applications of electricity; similar strong ties with Raytheon and Standard Oil (now Exxon) led to significant advances in the defense and petroleum industries. MIT engineers, with federal government funding, developed the Whirlwind, the world's first high-speed, general purpose, electronic digital computer able to operate in real time, a pioneering achievement in the computer revolution. Perhaps most visibly in recent decades, technology from federally sponsored MIT labs helped spawn the profusion of computer, software, electronics, defense and other high tech companies that created the Massachusetts Route 128 phenomenon, helping the U. S. remain dominant in worldwide high technology for some three decades.
Similarly, through collaborative partnerships with industry and government, MIT helped create the biotechnology industry and plays a major role in strengthening U. S. leadership in this key industry of the future.
Although the U. S. is the global leader in biotechnology, American dominance is being challenged. In Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe and America, MIT Professor Lester Thurow counts biotechnology as one of seven key industries of the next few decades, along with computers, telecommunications, advanced materials and others. But he warns that the United States faces very strong international competition in these and other core industries. Europe has 485 biotechnology companies and is moving aggressively in acquiring interests in U. S. biotech firms. Japan and other Asian nations, with strong government support of biotechnology initiatives, may be significant competitors in the near future.
As we enter the global economy of the 21st century, therefore, preeminent U. S. research universities like MIT are increasingly seen as partners in building the economic strength of the nation. MIT's contributions to the biotechnology industry are a notable example of this kind of support.
At least 45 biotechnology companies in the United States were founded or co-founded by MIT graduates, faculty or scientists, or licensed important technology from MIT. They employ nearly 10,000 persons and produce aggregate annual revenues of $3 billion, almost a quarter of the total revenues of all U. S. biotechnology companies.
The nation's research universities have been engaged in a unique partnership with the Federal Government since the Second World War. The Government sponsors basic scientific research in academia totaling some $12 billion annually. The "return" on this investment is manifold and profound: federally funded research advances the scientific and technological base of the nation; it educates and trains future engineers, scientists and managers; it produces remarkable achievements in medicine and health care; and it spawns thousands of high tech start-up companies which build industries and strengthen the nation's economy.
The Federal Government is the largest source of funding for biotechnology-related research at MIT. It is the engine that drives scientific discovery and technology development in biotechnology in MIT labs, and ultimately, in the larger biotechnology industry. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds $80 million annually for biological/biomedical research at MIT. A considerable portion of that Federal investment - approximately $40 million in 1995 - is conducted in the MIT Biology Department, the Center for Cancer Research, the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and other MIT research centers, and may be said to be directly applicable to biotechnology. Other Federal funding comes from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA and the Department of Energy. In total, Federal funding represents about 80% of MIT's total research volume in the biological sciences, and has a significant impact on the fundamental science of biotechnology and the biotechnology industry.
Scientific and technological advances generated from federally funded research at MIT are transferred directly to the biotechnology industry, in the form of licensed patents, scientific expertise, manufacturing technologies, and MIT-trained entrepreneurs who form start-up companies.
The alliance between the federal government and MIT in biotechnology-related research has had a significant impact on the biotechnology industry nationwide and has strengthened the country's competitive position in global biotechnology. In total,
Scientific advances and technology development generated from federally funded research at MIT are transferred directly to the biotechnology industry, in the form of licensed patents, scientific expertise, manufacturing technologies, and MIT-trained entrepreneurs who form start-up companies.
Biotechnology companies are engaged in many research and educational alliances with MIT, in the form of industrial consortia, professional education programs and sponsored research. These companies enjoy significant benefits: they gain early access to advanced research; they have contact with world renowned faculty and a highly skilled labor pool of graduating students and research scientists; and they gain access to state of the art laboratories and equipment. Examples of MIT partnerships with the biotechnology industry include:
The Biotechnology Process Engineering Center (BPEC) was formed by MIT and the National Science Foundation in 1985 with the goal of developing advanced manufacturing technologies for the U. S. biotechnology industry. The Center's industrial consortium acts as a vehicle for collaborative research and technology transfer in biotechnology between MIT and industry. Its 60 member companies include key biotech players such as Biogen, Genentech and Genzyme.
BPEC faculty, in collaboration with member companies, investigate technologies to produce genetically engineered proteins of therapeutic value, and systems engineering and control of biochemical production processes, such as downstream processing, to recover and purify the desired substances. MIT is a leader in such technologies for the production and purification of biotechnology products, and has had a significant impact on the chemical engineering side of the industry. It is estimated that half the industry's process engineers have been trained at MIT.
A long-term collaboration to pursue joint research initiatives was negotiated in March 1994 between MIT and Amgen, the leading American biotechnology company. The collaboration, which will operate for up to 10 years, will fund basic research in biological science at MIT while providing certain patent and technology licensing rights to Amgen. MIT President Charles Vest noted that the agreement "represents an essential element in the kind of future I see for MIT - a synergy of basic research efforts at universities and long-term commitments by industry."
University Park at MIT, a 27-acre industrial park in Cambridge owned by the Institute, leases 335,000 sq. ft. of office and laboratory space to high tech firms, over 50% of which are biotechnology companies. Many of the 15 biotech firms at University Park were drawn to the site in large part by its proximity to MIT and the biotechnology resources that MIT offers. The development of University Park into a thriving biotech park has helped spur the growth of the biotechnology industry in Cambridge, which is home to a third of the biotechnology companies in Massachusetts.
MIT's knowledge base - its faculty, students and research scientists, its world-renowned academic departments and research centers - is made available to the biotechnology industry.
Technology transfer - the process by which science and technology developed in laboratories and research universities is made available to industry and society - has been a crucial ingredient of the nation's economic and social well-being through much of this century. MIT has been a leader in technology transfer for much of its 134-year history; the first chemical synthesis of penicillin and the invention of magnetic core computer memory are two better known examples of the dozens of breakthrough technologies developed at MIT which have had a great impact on our lives.
The MIT Technology Licensing Office plays a pivotal role in bringing technologies developed in MIT labs to the marketplace, through an active program of patenting inventions, licensing technologies to existing companies, and forming new start-ups. MIT is awarded more than 100 patents per year, making it the leader among U. S. universities. In fact, this year MIT was issued the most patents of any single American institution of higher education for the fifth consecutive year. From this fertile base of invention, the Technology Licensing Office negotiates 60-80 new license agreements each year, transferring the rights of MIT invention to U. S. companies.
The figures for biotechnology-related technology transfer are impressive:
The impact of MIT technology transfer in biotechnology is underscored by Janice Bourque, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. She notes that "MIT is considered a national model in technology transfer" and is considered by Council member companies to be an environment where technology of crucial importance to the industry is shared.
* MIT Technology Licensing Office study, 1995
From the narrow sense of licensing patents to the broader scope of an exchange of ideas, scholarship and science, MIT brings critical knowledge and expertise to the U.S. biotechnology industry.
In a broader sense MIT's knowledge base - its faculty, students and research scientists, its world-renowned academic departments and research centers - is also transferred to the biotechnology industry.
MIT President Charles Vest spoke of this broad facet of MIT's influence in his 1993-94 Report of the President when he stated that "the most important mechanism for technology transfer from universities .... is educated and trained people and their broad-based knowledge and know-how." The intellectual vigor and scientific excellence of MIT's graduating students and research scientists play a vital role in the biotechnology industry. From the ranks of the Biology Department's 20-25 yearly PhD graduates and nearly 150 postdoctoral research scientists, and from other MIT departments and schools, a skilled pool of biologists, chemists, biochemists, process engineers and others brings advanced knowledge and training to U. S. biotechnology companies. MIT's influence on biotechnology companies is felt in management as well; graduates of the Institute's Sloan School of Management hold senior management positions in many Massachusetts and national biotechnology companies.
From the narrow sense of licensing patents to the broader scope of an exchange of ideas, scholarship and science, MIT brings critical knowledge and expertise to the U. S. biotechnology industry.
Thirty biotechnology companies in Massachusetts were founded or co-founded by MIT graduates or faculty, or license MIT biotechnology patents. These companies have created over 3,200 jobs and earn annual revenues of $520 million.
One measure of MIT's impact on the biotechnology industry is the impressive number of biotech companies its alumni/ae and faculty have founded. This is true in the country as a whole, but particularly so in Massachusetts.
Consider the following statistics:
When seen in the context of the overall economic picture in Massachusetts in the last ten years, these figures stand out even more. While defense-related industries have seen significant cutbacks and computer and other high tech companies have been hit hard by global competition and industry shake-outs, the Massachusetts biotechnology industry has steadily grown. Total employment in Massachusetts biotech companies will reach 20,000 by the end of the decade, according to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
The positive economic impact of MIT-related biotechnology companies is not limited to Massachusetts. MIT faculty and graduates have founded biotech companies in many other biotech centers around the country, including San Francisco, Philadelphia/New Jersey, Baltimore/Washington and San Diego.
While some of the MIT-related biotechnology companies in Massachusetts are still in the formative start-up phase, others have become major players with significant revenues and notable achievements.
Examples include industry pioneer Genentech; Amgen, the country's most successful biotech company; and Centocor. These companies alone have aggregate revenues of $2.4 billion and employ 6,800.
While some of the 30 MIT-related biotechnology companies in Massachusetts are still in the formative, start-up phase, others have become major players with significant revenues and notable achievements. Examples include:
Nine of the top ten best-selling biotechnology drugs on the market in 1994 were developed by MIT-related companies.
Biotechnology at present is at the beginning of a curve of discovery and development that will affect our lives in many ways. Already biotechnology affects the quality of life for millions of people through the development of drugs, vaccines, diagnostic tests, blood-screening techniques and many other medical applications. MIT-related biotechnology companies develop products that provide tangible benefits to many Americans.
Although it takes, on average, $100-$150 million and as much as ten years to bring a biotech drug from inception through research and development, clinical trials, Food and Drug Administration approval, and manufacturing scale-up, MIT-related companies produce a disproportionate number of the biotech drugs now on the market. As noted in Business Week, fewer people die of heart attacks today because of the blood clot-dissolving drug Activase, a recombinant DNA therapeutic; cystic fibrosis sufferers breathe easier with the biotech drug Pulmozyme; cancer patients are aided by Intron-A alpha interferon, a biotech-engineered drug derived from naturally occurring proteins in white blood cells; and people with diabetes use genetically engineered human insulin while leading otherwise normal lives.
All of these drugs were developed by MIT-related biotechnology companies. In fact,
* Ernst & Young, 1994
Amgen, Inc., which developed Neupogen, Epogen and Procrit. Neupogen boosts white blood cell production and combats infection from chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants and infectious diseases. Epogen is a recombinant human hormone which stimulates red blood cell production for treatment of anemia. Procrit treats anemia associated with chemotherapy and AZT treatment of AIDS.
Biogen's Intron A alpha interferon is sold in more than 60 countries for 17 different types of cancers and viral infections, including hepatitis B and C, for which it is the primary treatment. Hairy cell leukemia and Kaposi's sarcoma, an AIDS-related cancer, are among the diseases currently being treated by Intron-A alpha interferon.
Genentech, Inc., figures prominently, with five of the top ten biotech drugs. Its therapeutics treat diabetes (Humulin), hepatitis B (Engerix-B), heart attacks and blood clots (Activase), human growth deficiency (Protropin), and hairy cell leukemia and Kaposi's sarcoma (Roferon-A), among other disorders. Genentech is a pioneer and leader in the biotechnology revolution: the San Francisco-based company was the first major biotechnology company to be formed, in 1976. Genentech's Humulin, for treatment of diabetes, was the first successful recombinant DNA product for human use; the company's Activase, used to combat myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolisms, is the first biotech product used for treatment of a major cause of death in the U. S., heart disease.
MIT-related biotechnology companies are engaged in a broad array of research and development and drug discovery in AIDS and cancer research, immunology, central nervous system diseases and brain disorders, skin regeneration for burn victims, organ regeneration and gene therapy.
Many other MIT-related companies have important therapeutics in the development pipeline. Alkermes, Inc., a small (150-employee) Cambridge biotech firm, is developing therapeutics for brain and central nervous system disorders. The company's scientists focus on drug delivery technology which can breach the blood-brain barrier, a natural protective mechanism which hampers treatment of strokes and neurodegenerative disorders. This proprietary technology would enhance treatment of Alzheimer's disease, brain cancer, and central nervous system disorders. Organogenesis, Inc. develops and manufactures living tissue such as skin, arteries, and ligaments, to replace damaged or diseased tissue. Cutting edge Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. utilizes advances in human genome mapping and bioinformatics in an effort to identify and treat common, major diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Other MIT-related companies are involved in a broad array of biotechnology research and development and drug discovery in AIDS and cancer research, immunology, central nervous system diseases and brain disorders, skin regeneration for burn victims, organ regeneration and gene therapy.
Collectively, MIT-related biotechnology companies, from billion-dollar industry leaders to small niche market start-ups, provide critical medical care for many Americans and pursue research that will improve the quality of life for millions more.
The 18 companies in italic type are based in Cambridge, Mass.
|
Massachusetts companies |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Acusphere, Inc. |
Drug delivery technology |
|
Alkermes, Inc. |
R&D; of central nervous system drugs |
|
Alpha-Beta Technology, Inc. |
Immunology |
|
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Pharmaceutical R&D |
|
Biogen, Inc. |
Pharmaceuticals; AIDS and cancer research |
|
Biopure Corp. |
Immobilized enzymes and blood-based products |
|
BioSurface Technology, Inc.* |
(Genzyme Corp.) |
|
Cambridge NeuroScience, Inc. |
Drugs for brain disorders |
|
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Therapies to fight infection |
|
Enzytech, Inc.* |
(Alkermes, Inc.) |
|
Focal, Inc. |
Medical hydrogels |
|
Gel Sciences, Inc. |
Medical hydrogels |
|
Geltex* |
(Genzyme Corp.) |
|
Genzyme Corp. |
Diagnostics and pharmaceuticals |
|
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. |
Therapeutics |
|
Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Drugs for central nervous system diseases |
|
Matritech, Inc. |
Cancer diagnostics |
|
Metabolix, Inc. |
Biopolymers |
|
Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Genomics |
|
Myco Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Anti-fungals, anti-infection drugs |
|
Nemapharm, Inc. |
Depression and alcohol abuse research |
|
One Cell Systems, Inc. |
Cell analysis |
|
Organogenesis, Inc. |
Skin tissues and test organs |
|
PerSeptive Biosystems, Inc. |
Bioseparation products |
|
Procept, Inc. |
Immune system R&D; |
|
Pharmaceutical Peptides, Inc. |
Drug discovery |
|
Repligen Corp. |
AIDS research; proteins |
|
Sepracor, Inc. |
Pharmaceutical purification technology |
|
T Cell Sciences, Inc. |
Inflammatory and autoimmune disease therapeutics |
|
Virus Research Institute, Inc. |
Vaccines |
|
Non-Massachusetts companies |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Amgen, Inc. (CA) |
Pharmaceuticals |
|
Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. (CA) |
Biomedical research |
|
Cistron Biotechnology, Inc. (NJ) |
Immune response regulators |
|
Centocor, Inc. (PA) |
Diagnostics and therapeutics |
|
Genentech, Inc. (CA) |
Recombinant pharmaceuticals |
|
Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MD) |
Neurological disorder therapeutics |
|
Idun Pharmaceuticals (CA) |
Cell death manipulation |
|
Igen, Inc. (MD) |
Diagnostic assays |
|
Ingenex, Inc. (CA) |
Cancer and viral disease therapeutics |
|
Medimmune, Inc. (MD) |
Infectious disease antibodies |
|
Neomorphics* (CA) |
(Advanced Tissue Sciences) |
|
Proteinix, Inc. (MD) |
Antibody technology |
|
Reprogenesis (TX) |
Tissue engineering |
|
Somatix Therapy Corp. (CA) |
Gene therapy |
|
Terrapin Technologies, Inc. (CA) |
Cancer therapy and diagnostics |
"MIT-related" companies include biotechnology companies of which MIT graduates or faculty were corporate founders or co-founders, or were scientific founders (key, early scientific advisors who contributed to a company's nascent technology); and companies which licensed biotechnology from MIT. A "biotechnology company" in this survey refers primarily to companies involved in drug discovery, drug delivery technology, diagnostics, antibody and vaccine development, tissue engineering, gene identification and manipulation, and other related research and development; a small number of the companies listed are biotechnology industry support and service companies.