Dear Readers,
In this Update for Product | Strategy | Innovation I will touch on a personal milestone. I moved to Boston 25 years ago at the end of October 1998 to start a job at Brigham and Women’s Hospital focused on product research & development. Less than 6 months into the job, I killed the project I was hired to lead. This cleared the deck to reallocate resources to higher impact projects.
Over the next 5 years, I worked with startup ventures and major corporations to design, develop, clear and commercialize new medical devices and regulated software products. Three of these products solved problems I identified in the clinic before I moved to Boston. That is why I love biomedical engineering. We solve problems with our physician colleagues to improve and save lives.
So to celebrate 25 years in Boston, I’m going to review why I also love Boston so much.
1. Greater Boston is a leading international hub for higher education
Higher education has always been a core component of the Greater Boston area with Harvard College founded in 1636, Harvard Medical School in 1782, Boston University in 1839, Tufts University in 1852, MIT in 1861, Boston College in 1863, Northeastern University in 1898 and Harvard Business School in 1908. Many other colleges and universities in the surrounding area contribute to this higher education ecosystem.
Harvard Medical School and its affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes are key contributors to higher education, research and biotechnology innovation in the Greater Boston area. The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine also provide significant contributions to the area with their own teaching hospitals and research institutes.
2. Greater Boston is the largest biotech hub in the world
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies like Takeda, Sanofi, Novartis, Pfizer, Vertex, Merck, Biogen, AbbVie, Amgen, Moderna, Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, Editas and Intellia Therapeutics have large innovation hubs or global headquarters in the Greater Boston area. Many other emerging or mid-sized biotech or pharmaceutical companies call the area their headquarters. Kendall Square adjacent to MIT in Cambridge is where a lot of this innovation happens.
Medical device companies like Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, Medtronic, Abiomed and Hologic also have innovation hubs or headquarters in the Greater Boston area. Professional firms that service these biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies also have a strong presence in the area.
The concentration of these companies and their employees provides a lot of benefits to the area including collaborations with area teaching hospitals, research labs and institutions. Area businesses like restaurants also benefit from the high density of these companies and their skilled employees.
3. Greater Boston and New England offer abundant outdoor, sports and cultural opportunities
From Acadia National Park in Maine and the White Mountains of New Hampshire to Cape Cod Massachusetts and its islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, New England offers abundant opportunities to experience the outdoors. That includes snow skiing in the winter and water sports in the summer. I learned to sail on the Charles River and then graduated to Boston Harbor for bigger boats to day-sail up to Marblehead or sail overnight to Cape Cod.
Fenway Park is home for the Boston Red Sox and is my favorite ballpark. And there is nothing like a Stanley Cup playoff hockey game at TD Garden with the Boston Bruins. I also look forward to the Boston Marathon every spring to watch the elite long distance runners run through Brookline on the route into Boston.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science and many other museums in the area form a strong foundation for cultural opportunities. The Boston Symphony offers a comprehensive music program each year and the Handel and Haydn Society specializes in Baroque and classical music played with period instruments. Boston’s North End offers authentic Italian cuisine, coffee and bakeries. Union Oyster House in Boston is America’s oldest restaurant. Gloucester offers fresh seafood on the Seven Seas Wharf next to Wicked Tuna in the Blue Collar Lobster & Cafe.
Some Final Thoughts
Most weekdays I walk from Brookline through Brighton and Allston into Cambridge to work at a biotech venture in Harvard Square. As I approach the Charles River, I pass Harvard Stadium on the left and Harvard Business School on the right.
As I walk over the Anderson Memorial Bridge into Cambridge, I often see 8-person rowing crews practicing on the Charles River. And then walking into Cambridge, I pass more student-athletes walking towards Allston or riding on electric scooters to practice for swimming, track, hockey and many other sports.
My daughter moved to Boston 7 years ago after college with an undergraduate degree in neuroscience and many years running cross country and track as a student-athlete. She assessed her opportunities and came to the same conclusion I did 25 years ago. She bet on Boston.
After training and working as an EMT, then as a paramedic, and next as a physician assistant, my daughter is now an emergency medicine PA at a teaching hospital and level-1 trauma center in Boston. I’m sure she will continue to build her network in the emergency medicine community throughout Boston and beyond. These are some of the dividends of betting on Boston.
I’m also glad I made that bet on Boston and Brigham and Women’s Hospital 25 years ago. Swing for the fences with a fat pitch just like Ted Williams, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez did for the Red Sox!
Best,
Stephen
I’m long biomedical engineering and Boston mentioned in this Update. Nothing in this Update is intended to serve as financial advice. Do your own research. The opinions and views expressed in this newsletter are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions, views or policies of any other organization, company or employer.