BIO and Battelle Release Bioscience Analysis

In its latest bio-industry analyses, Ernst & Young reported that the global bioscience industry has yet to become profitable, but that doesn’t mean the field isn’t growing by many measures, particularly the number of jobs created. Technology, Talent and Capital: State Bioscience Initiatives 2008, prepared by Battelle for BIO, puts total U.S. employment in the biosciences at 1.3 million in 2006, up from 1.2 million in 2004.
 
Bioscience employment in the U.S. is led by strong growth in the research, testing and medical lab subsector, which experienced a 17.8 percent increase in employment and a 32.7 percent increase in establishments between 2001 and 2006, according to the report. And most states are working hard to ensure some of that economic development impact happens within their borders.

Prepared annually since 2004, this year’s report explores more deeply the geographic distribution of the bioscience industry. Among its findings, Battelle reports:

• Thirty-five 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, 202 have an employment specialization in at least one of the four bioscience subsectors, up from 193 in 2004.

 In addition to employment, the report examines other indicators of the robustness of a state’s bioscience industry, including the level of bioscience R&D funding, venture capital investment, and patents.
 
Technology, Talent and Capital: State Bioscience Initiatives 2008 also explores the wide range of activities states engage in to support the growing sector. Tax credits and equity funding are the most prevalent forms of assistance offered: 36 states offer R&D tax credits, 31 exempt R&D equipment, including equipment purchased for biomanufacturing from sales taxes, and 39 states allow carry forward of Net Operating Losses.
 
Thirty-three states reported programs that provide pre-seed and seed stage investments in bioscience companies.
 
Sustaining research funding at universities and businesses is also of concern to the states. Of growing importance is the application of bioscience to agriculture, energy and industrial products, Battelle finds. Nearly half of the states have committed funds for bioscience energy research and facilities. Nine states have pledged to spend more than $4 billion on stem cell research over the next 10 years.
 
While U.S. higher education institutions awarded more than 143,000 bioscience-related degrees in the 2006 academic year, the report asserts, that does not address all of the labor issues facing the bioscience industry. About half of the states have conducted an inventory of workforce needs in the biosciences sector.
 
The importance of the biosciences to state economic goals can also be seen in the priority the field is given in state legislatures. Twelve states have legislative caucuses, and California, Illinois and Minnesota have dedicated bioscience committees.
 
With a wealth of statistics, graphics and insights into the industry and individual state profiles, Technology, Talent and Capital: State Bioscience Initiatives 2008 is available at: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2008