Like some of its products, cultivated from the cells, strands and science of living organisms, Maine’s biotechnology industry has grown organically.
It dates to the mid-1970s founding of Ventrex Laboratories Inc., a diagnostic testing company in Portland, and the now-defunct Foundation for Blood Research.
Those two organizations led to the creation of more than 20 biotech businesses, says Gary Goodrich, a board member of the Bioscience Association of Maine. Today, more than 200 bioscience-related companies and organizations call the state home.
“Maine’s industry is a little cluster,” Goodrich says. “It crosses a lot of different areas.” Read more
