GRAND RAPIDS -- A public policy panel of life science CEOs at the MichBio Expo Thursday gave a mostly upbeat assessment of Michigan's future in the biotech and medical device industries and offered praise for the state's efforts to lure and keep companies in those industries.

"I think one of the things we don't do very well in this state is that we don't toot our own horn enough," said James Herbert, CEO of Lansing-based Neogen Corp., a provider of vaccines and laboratory culture supplies. "We've got 650 employees and 30 openings in the state of Michigan for our operations. And sometimes we get people who say, I'm not sure if I want to come to Michigan, I understand things are bad there. Well, it's only bad if you don't have a job. If you've got a job it's a good place to be."

Phil Hagerman, CEO of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy in Flint, praised Michigan's "lakes, golf courses, ski areas. It's an incredible place to live if you are in the right sector and have an opportunity for growth."

Hagerman said the state Legislature needs to understand that the health care industry is growing at 15 to 20 percent per year, making it "an incredible place to put" scarce state incentives.

Shane Ray, of Marquette-based Pioneer Surgical Equipment, said it's been tough to find qualified employees in the Upper Peninsula, so much so that the company moved some of its operations. But he said Marquette also offers a terrific lifestyle and continuing education opportunities. And as a North Carolina transplant, he said he appreciated Michigan's emphasis on the agriculture component of the bioeconomy.

Barry Nowak, CEO of a startup with the unlikely name Syzygy, said that when it comes to state incentives, "I'd like to quote a song, I like it, I love it, but I want some more of it. We've had nothing but positive experiences in terms of facilities, access to equipment and customer base. Within three months of us starting operations we had both the University of Michigan and the Van Andel Institute wanting to buy our products."

Michael Jandernoa, former CEO of the Allegan generic drug maker Perrigo, said he's "excited about the state of life sciences in Michigan." He said there's more connection than ever between the state's life sciences industry pockets in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Unmet needs remain in capital, however, he said.

MichBio president and CEO Stephen Rapundalo, who moderated the panel, and Jandernoa both also pleaded for a return to a more aggressive Michigan business advertising campaign, like the Upper Hand campaign that ran ads with actor Jeff Daniels a few years back.

"It's expensive to try to totally do that through advertising but it was an effective campaign," Jandernoa said. And Rapundalo joked that his counterparts from competing states "begged me to get those ads of the air."

Panelists also urged more training in getting federal research money and more entrepreneurial training.