How do you build a biotech cluster?

Officials in Massachusetts believe they’ve got a shot at growing a new Kendall Square about 130 miles west of Cambridge, in a woodsy clime better known as a vacation spot than a startup hub.

That might sound far-fetched, but, as STAT’s Kate Sheridan reports, stranger things have happened. Biotech history is littered with would-be clusters that never quite took off, but there are also counter-intuitive success stories, like the biotech hub in Madison, Wisc.

Whether the Western Mass project has a bright future is an open question, said Charles Wessner, a professor at Georgetown University who focuses on innovation policy in the U.S. But “at first look, this is a wonderful initiative,” he said.

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