Connecticut Life Science, Business, and Economic Development Experts Discuss Connecticut’s Bioscience Future

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – Today a group of national and Connecticut-based partners hosted the Connecticut Bioscience Business Roundtable (BBR) event at the University of Connecticut in West Hartford. Bioscience represents a major source of potential economic development and jobs for Connecticut. The event featured remarks from Governor M. Jodi Rell, Congressman Chris Murphy, and Lt. Governor Michael Fedele.

“In this difficult economic time, the bioscience community is creating jobs and saving lives and Connecticut is at the center of the action,” said Paul Pescatello, President and CEO of Connecticut United for Research (CURE). “Connecticut possesses a powerful cluster of biopharmaceutical companies and our acclaimed educational institutions and knowledgeable business community are working together to ensure economic success and jobs for Connecticut. The Bioscience Business Roundtable offered a great opportunity for the open exchange of ideas about safeguarding this important industry in Connecticut.”

Connecticut’s bioscience industry represents a significant source of economic development and career opportunities. The most recent data available demonstrates that the Connecticut biopharmaceutical sector supports more than $14 billion in total economic output, directly supporting nearly 11,000 direct jobs and over 40,000 jobs in other sectors. http://www.archstoneconsulting.com/biopharmapdf/connecticut.pdf

BBR is a unified voice of leaders representing the biotechnology, life sciences, and biomedical research industries — collectively known as the bioscience community. Its mission is to promote public policies that on a local, state and federal level safeguard and sustain America’s place as the world leader in bioscience. The three tenets of BBR are to promote access, prevention and encourage innovation. This is achieved by building bridges of understanding between government leaders, the business community and academia on key issues facing Connecticut and the United States’ dynamic bioscience community.

Partners hosting today’s event included: the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, Connecticut Business & Industry Association, Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, Connecticut Development Authority, Connecticut Economic Development, Association, Connecticut Innovations, Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention, Connecticut Technology Council, Connecticut United for Research Excellence, Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, Independent, Connecticut Petroleum Association, Jobs for New England Now, Metro Hartford Alliance, New England Venture Capital Association, St. Joseph College School of Pharmacy, Town of Groton Economic Development Commission, University of Connecticut Dept of Public Policy, Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wesleyan University, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

For more information please visit www.Connecticutbbr.org.

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Hopes must have been high earlier this year among members of a group of business leaders from across Connecticut when they put forth a blueprint for helping to end the state’s budget stalemate.

The group offered a comprehensive plan calling for reforms and other measures to get the state’s budget in order and stop the exodus of business from Connecticut. Unfortunately, according to a recent column in the Hartford Business Journal, state leaders had no interest in what the group had to offer. We commend the Metro Hartford Alliance and its membership for its leadership in taking the initiative, and share their frustration at the fate of the proposal.

This lack of response is symptomatic of what has been happening here for decades regarding business development in Connecticut: nothing. Usually there is at least lip service paid to the business community, but this time only a deaf ear was offered.

Today, there is no plan in Connecticut to move the state forward in creating and maintaining jobs and attracting business to the state. Several attempts have been made to fashion such a plan, but ultimately they have never come to fruition. Rather than see things in the long term, politicians are interested in immediate gratification — scrambling from one crisis to another, trying to appear to play the hero, but ending up with nothing to show for their grandstanding.

Of particular note is the grandstanding of Attorney General Blumenthal. In October, the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC), at the behest of Blumenthal banned Connecticut Natural Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas, two major, longstanding companies, from conducting business as they saw fit. Given the economic pressures they are under, those companies felt compelled to let a small amount of their work force go — an unpleasant and all too familiar exercise today in Connecticut.

Earlier in the summer, Blumnethal tried to interfere with AT&T and its job restructuring plan. To its credit, the DPUC stood up to Blumenthal at that time and declared accusation unwarranted. And again, just last week, Blumenthal issued a press release written in collaboration with union officials who are currently in negotiations with AT&T, regarding job restructuring within the company. The release contained erroneous information about the company’s business affairs, although Blumenthal made no mention of that information in a subsequent press release.

The unhelpful, even antagonistic attitude that political leaders exhibit towards business in Connecticut needs to change. Instead of dialogue, there is demonizing. Instead of conversation, there is name calling. Instead of progressive and thoughtful action or promotion of new and innovative concepts, there is inaction. What many in government fail to realize is that business is the engine of job creation and growth that benefits all of us, and therefore warrants their support.

Had there been such a long-term economic plan from our political leaders, perhaps the movement of jobs to other states and countries by Pratt & Whitney might not have happened. Perhaps if a plan had been in place, the small manufacturers of Connecticut would not have to tell lifelong employees that they no longer had a job. Perhaps if politicians had been involved in a dialogue with all affected parties, today’s global recession might have been mitigated here. But there is no plan. There is no leadership.
We urge the Metro Hartford Alliance and all business leaders to renew their efforts to re-engage the state’s policy makers in meaningful and results-driven dialogue. In the absence of state leadership, we would urge that all state officials re-engage with business leaders to fashion such a plan. It will be hard work, no question. But the alternative is continued inaction that leads to over reaction.

Paul Moran is the executive director of Jobs for New England Now, a coalition of citizens, businesses, pro-business groups and nonprofit organizations that encourages economic growth and prosperity for greater New England.

The next was: “Need positive attitude. No naysayers,” according to the notes kept by one of the senators at the meeting last week.

The third was a variation on a key piece of an ambitious proposal to solve deficit-racked California’s budget crisis: lower the tax burden on the wealthy, repeal sales taxes and replace the corporate profits tax with a new levy pegged to business revenues.