A classroom full of future biotech lab technicians at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute’s Biotechnology Academy served as a backdrop Friday as officials from BioConnects New England unveiled a push to create a regional bio-manufacturing cluster in traditionally under-served communities in Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island.
The multi-state coalition is a finalist of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, a $1 billion competitive grant program sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Finalists can apply for up to a maximum $100 million grant. Officials said they expect to hear about the grant awards in the fall.
