Governor Mills Announces Creation of the Maine Life Sciences Center

Governor also announces $2.7 million in awards by Maine Technology Institute to build a state-of-the-art life science laboratory facility in Maine

Governor Janet Mills today announced the creation of the Maine Life Sciences Center, a new initiative of the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) designed to attract investment and foster innovation in life sciences, one of Maine's fastest-growing economic sectors.

Also today, the Governor announced $2.7 million in grants by MTI for the Maine Life Sciences Incubator, a state-of-the-art laboratory to provide space, equipment, and resources to support emerging companies in the burgeoning life sciences industry.

Taken together, the Center and the Incubator represent a significant investment by the Mills Administration in Maine's growing life sciences sector, which today accounts for nearly 10,000 good-paying jobs and $2.3 billion in economic activity. The Center was officially established through an executive order signed by the Governor on September 19.

"With this Executive Order, we are laying the groundwork for more Maine businesses to succeed in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world," said Governor Janet Mills. "This new Center and Incubator will give entrepreneurs the facilities and resources they need to grow their companies, create good-paying jobs, and keep innovation and investment here in Maine."

"This is about building an ecosystem where innovation can thrive," said Mike Duguay, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. "By supporting entrepreneurs, fostering collaboration, and providing the right infrastructure, we are positioning Maine to be a leader in life sciences. The Incubator and Center will help transform research into products, startups into companies, and ideas into jobs.

"The Maine Technology Institute is proud to operate the new Life Sciences Center and help bring the Governor's vision to life," said Brian Whitney, President of MTI. "This initiative will focus on strategy development, stakeholder alignment, investment coordination, and ecosystem capacity-building to advance the Life Sciences Sector."

"I am incredibly proud to see Maine's Life Sciences Center come to fruition," said Senate Majority Leader Teresa S. Pierce. "Our state is home to the natural resources and work ethic that makes our life science industry a leading force nationally. With this center, we're not only investing in cutting-edge innovation, we're also creating good-paying jobs, retaining top talent and building an economy that works for all Mainers -- from the foothills to the fishing wharfs. This is about harnessing Maine's strengths to drive sustainable growth and opportunity for generations to come. I look forward to working with the administration and my colleagues to ensure a smooth transition into this exciting new chapter."

"BioME applauds Governor Mills' Executive Order establishing the Maine Life Sciences Center," said Agnieszka Carpenter, Executive Director of BioME."Our members represent the backbone of Maine's bioscience community, driving discovery and innovation every day. This new Center is a game changer: it will provide the resources, visibility, and collaboration opportunities needed to scale research, attract top talent, and bring cutting-edge solutions to market. Today's action demonstrates Maine is serious about growing this important industry, and BioME is proud to stand with the Governor in propelling our state's life science sector to new heights."

"FocusMaine applauds Governor Mills' and the Maine Legislature's bold stances on building Maine's life science industry, said Andrea Cianchette Maker, President of FocusMaine. "These steps will leverage Maine's natural resources and research institutions for greater prosperity across the state."

About the Life Sciences in Maine

Maine's life sciences industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, and the United States continues to lead in biomedical research and development spending. Maine's life sciences sector is fueled by nearly 600 organizations spanning biotechnology, diagnostics and medical devices, marine and aquaculture science, health care innovation, and fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and bioinformatics.

Maine Life Sciences Center: The Center will coordinate the efforts of research institutions, businesses, and workforce programs to align training, recruitment, and investment strategies. The Maine Life Science Center will coordinate partnerships between research institutions and industry, while supporting entrepreneurs, workforce development, and commercialization efforts at the Incubator.

Maine Life Sciences Incubator: This new facility, to be built in Portland by the end of 2026, is designed to launch and scale the next generation of life sciences startups by bringing together expert science mentors, workforce development programs, and investors to support entrepreneurs in efficiently growing their companies in Maine.

The Incubator is a laboratory built for hands-on scientific work -- it will be equipped with specialized plumbing, ventilation, and safety systems that allow researchers to test ideas with real materials, not just models or data.

To build the Incubator, MTI awarded $2.3 million to Hatch.Bio Labs of Massachusetts, a leading biotechnology lab developer, for construction of the facility. The remaining $400,000 was awarded to the Roux Institute of Portland to help grow entrepreneurial support programs for the life sciences sector and the companies housed at the incubator.

"We are grateful to Governor Mills and the Maine Technology Institute for helping us catalyze the next phase of Maine's life sciences ecosystem," said Aileen Huang-Saad, Director of Life Sciences, Health, & Engineering Programs at Northeastern University's Roux Institute. "With this support, Northeastern University's Roux Institute will build density of activity through co-location and community programming, expand access to critical networks of mentorship and investors, strengthen pathways to capital and talent, and ensure the BioPilot/BioIN lab at USM remains a cornerstone resource for emerging startups."

This initiative reflects Governor Mills' commitment to diversifying Maine's economy and creating opportunities in high-wage, high-growth industries of the future, in alignment with her 10-year economic strategy for Maine launched in 2019.