Robyn A. Porter

Fueled by a major increase in venture financing, Connecticut’s bioscience and pharmaceutical industries – two of the nation’s job creators of the future – are among the key leaders in the state’s economic growth.

According to a news report by The Hour of Norwalk, venture financing in Connecticut recorded its single biggest quarter in three years, coming in at $164 million for the recent April-June period, nearly doubling the first quarter total for this year.

The Hour reports that New Haven-based Melinta Therapeutics secured $90 million in financial commitments as the Yale University startup develops a drug to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with MRSA a major cause of hospital skin infections. Melinta’s scientific founders include Thomas Steitz, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his breakthroughs in antibiotics.

Other investments that Connecticut has made in promoting business and job growth are also paying off. The Hartford Courant recently reported that Jackson Laboratory in Farmington will increase its work force this summer from 297 to 330 employees.

The economic benefits of investments in the bioscience and pharmaceutical industries are virtually unlimited, and I am thrilled that our state is striving to be a leader in these areas, which help attract and retain high-paying jobs for Connecticut.