The Wall Street Journal information that Boston’s once-thriving biotech sector has suffered a sharp decline, leaving newly acquired doctors struggling to find work As venture funding dries up, lab space becomes empty and companies downsize or relocate amid rising costs and political uncertainty. The Wall Street Journal reports: Boston’s biotech sector, long a vital economic driver for one of America’s wealthiest metropolitan areas, is faltering. A double whammy of cuts to venture capital and government funding has taken its toll, leading to layoffs and struggles for job seekers. For workers who thought they would easily launch into a well-paid scientific career, the crisis has been especially hard.
Massachusetts saw a slight decline in its roughly 65,000 biotech research and development jobs in 2024 after years of mostly strong increases, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to federal data. The figures indicate that job losses continued at least until June, while hiring remains sluggish. As of late September, nearly 28% of Greater Boston’s lab space was empty, according to the latest estimates from real estate firm CBRE. “Every stage of the life cycle has been affected by political or regulatory uncertainty this year,” said Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, chief executive of MassBio, an industry trade group. The impact has hit startups especially hard, he said.
A continued recession poses risks for a region where workers will have to endure sky-high real estate costs if they can get well-paying jobs. Massachusetts faces competition from other states and China, which are eager to shed talent and investment. “There are states and countries that come after us every day,” Gov. Maura Healey said in an interview. In late October, the Democrat testified before the Massachusetts legislature in support of a $400 million “competitiveness agenda” that seeks to spur new investment and supplement research funding lost this year. Lawmakers are reviewing the bill, a House spokesman said.
