National Bioscience Report Shows Some Growth

The U.S. bioscience industry continued to score employment gains through 2008 – the first year of the recent economic downturn, according to a study released today by Battelle and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The Battelle/BIO State Bioscience Initiatives 2010 contains the most recent data available and shows that publicly traded bioscience-related companies on the whole generated positive net growth through 2009. U.S. employment in the bioscience sector reached 1.42 million in 2008, a gain of 19,000 bioscience industry jobs in the United States since 2007. The study offers individual profiles containing data on a state-by-state basis for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and is available on the BIO web site

The report is a compendium of national, state and metropolitan data on bioscience employment and growth trends from 2001 to 2008, according to the latest detailed industry data to be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also presents a series of key bioscience performance metrics and state policy and program trends that are designed to accelerate the growth of the biosciences. For the first time since Battelle began to produce the report for BIO, included is a national examination of the financial performance of the biosciences sector.

“Not every biotech company made it through the storm. Fifty publicly traded companies went bankrupt for lack of access to capital. But there is much good news. Biotech stocks outperformed virtually every other index in the first quarter of this year. The markets have come back but Biotech has come back faster and stronger,” said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO. Battelle is the world’s largest independent research and development organization and produces the report with support from BIO.

Highlights of key indicators include:

• The biosciences continued to grow during the first year of the recession. Employment in the biosciences sector grew 1.4 percent from 2007 to 2008, while total private sector employment declined by 0.7 percent.
• Rapid growth in the biosciences has been fueled primarily by growth in research, testing and medical laboratories. The subsector added more than 176,000 jobs between 2001 and 2008, accounting for 9 out of every 10 new bioscience jobs created during this time period.
• The bioscience sector continues to be a source of high-wage jobs. The average bioscience job paid $77,595 in 2008, $32,000 more than the average private sector job.
• Each bioscience job generates an additional 5.8 jobs in the national economy.
• A special analysis of the financial performance of 649 public bioscience companies in 2009 suggests that, even during the recession, the bioscience industry is a positive generator of net income across each subsector, whether research, testing, and medical labs; agricultural feedstock and chemicals; medical devices and equipment; or drugs and pharmaceuticals.
• Thirty-nine states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have an employment specialization (20 percent or more concentrated than the nation) in at least one of the four bioscience subsectors (drugs and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, research, testing and medical laboratories, and agricultural feedstock and chemicals).
• Twelve states – California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas – have both a large (more than 5 percent of total U.S. employment) and specialized bioscience base in at least one of the bioscience subsectors.
• Of the nation’s 361 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 190 have an employment specialization in at least one of the four bioscience subsectors, a slight drop from 202 in 2006. “States and regions are targeting the bioscience sector because it is a source of high-wage, high-skill jobs,” said Mitchell Horowitz, Vice-President of Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice. “But policymakers also realize that biosciences development is not simply about generating economic returns. The great promise of biosciences is its ability to address global problems, from human health to food generation and security to environmental sustainability and clean energy. Bioscience development pays huge social and quality of life dividends for the U.S. and the world.” The study found that states are continuing to implement policies and programs to support bioscience development despite facing extremely challenging fiscal conditions. States are:
  • Investing in major bioscience development initiatives
  • Focusing on the agricultural biotechnology, bioenergy and bioproducts industry subsectors
  • Implementing new programs to build R&D capacity and advance commercialization of research discoveries
  • Continuing to address bioscience companies’ needs for early-stage capital
  • Enacting tax policies that are supportive of bioscience companies.

The study offers individual profiles containing data on a state-by-state basis for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, is available on the BIO web site

About Battelle

Battelle is the world’s largest non-profit independent research and development organization, providing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing needs through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $5.6 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,400 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide, including seven national laboratories which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a nuclear energy lab in the United Kingdom. Battelle also is one of the nation’s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.