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“I want to tell you how proud I am to be here today; proud because of the work that’s
done here at this university. And, certainly not just UMass Lowell, this project’s in
collaboration with UMass Worcester and when you look at this project in just a strictly
economic view point, and you look at the number of companies that are ready to work with this
center, that have products that are viable, that can be marketable, that can not only
create economic development but can help people. I mean, this is a win-win in so many ways.
And I have to credit the Governor, because once we were able to get this to his eyes,
he saw the importance of getting it done, not in government time, not in bureaucratic
time, not in political time, but in getting it done in business time. And that’s what
the Governor’s here to announce today and I’ll bring him up to make the announcement
because he understands that the future of the Massachusetts economy really is geared
and founded on technology as we go forward into the twenty-first century and one important
sector that we really targeted is the life sciences. The Governor has been a leader in
targeting this and medical devises is one area of that and today, he’s here to make
an announcement that I think will help all of us. Governor Deval Patrick.” (Applause).
“Thank You. Thank you very much. Special thanks to Chairman Panagiotakos, the Chairman
of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, he’s a great friend every day, a special friend
during budget time. Thank you for your leadership here in Lowell, and as the Chancellor said,
all across the Commonwealth. And I do want to thank Chancellor Meehan and all of the
UMass Lowell family for the very, very warm welcome, and it’s great to be with the members
of the delegation as well and the other elected officials and their representatives who are
here. I am very proud to join all of you today in announcing a Commonwealth investment of
$4 million to create a renewed M2D2 center at UMass Lowell. Everybody know what M2D2
is? Who doesn’t? (Laughter) All right, some of you don’t. The Massachusetts Medical
Device Development Center, thank you very much. And we are - yes, make some noise about
it. (Applause). In partnership with UMass Worcester, the M2D2 Center here has the purpose
of assisting startup companies in developing patented ideas into prototypes, which is what’s
necessary to navigate through the federal review process. This is very, very important.
I don’t know if any of you have had a chance, or all of you have had a chance to visit with
some of the companies whose displays are in the back here. Have a look if you haven’t,
and see the extraordinary things that they are doing to advance healing, but also to
advance our economic opportunities. And it is happening here in Massachusetts and we
can accelerate this by making the kinds of investments that we have proposed to do, including
today’s. And we’re very proud in that vein to continue our partnership with UMass
and our private partners, in developing the innovation infrastructure we need to move
new ideas to cures, creating new companies and new jobs as we go. Thanks to the hard
work of our congressional delegation, Massachusetts has received a generous share of NIH funding
over the years. But that funding has been flat in recent years and burdened by restrictions
on certain types of research. These restrictions, unfortunately, have more to do with politics
than they do with healing. For this and other reasons, many promising innovations, therapies
and cures have fallen into the so-called valley of death where public support for research
runs dry before the market steps in with financing. Right now, innovative ideas that could lead
to new cures, new products, and new companies, are languishing from a lack of available support.
Our researchers are developing ideas and innovations at a faster rate, in fact, than can be developed
into new cures, and that’s an opportunity that we should not let go by. A needs assessment
performed with local venture capitalists, industry executives, university technology
transfer officers, and medical center leaders showed that the Massachusetts Medical Device
Development Center could service four- to five-times as many medical device concepts
as it does right now. I think I have that right, Tom, yes.”