A joint report from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and TEConomy Partners released Tuesday shows growth in the bio and life sciences sectors in New Jersey, despite an increasingly competitive environment with states such as Massachusetts.
The report was released at the 2018 BIO International Convention, an annual event that this year has drawn more than 16,000 attendees from 74 countries.
Ryan Helwig, partner and principal at TEConomy, said the industry has been particularly robust, even during the economic downturn 10 years ago.
Helwig said growth in the bio and life sciences industry has outpaced aerospace and electronics manufacturing, and that bio and life sciences has grown at twice the pace of the private sector.
The industry has not outpaced information technology and computer science. Helwig, however, said it has instead seen more overlap with both.
The industry is responsible for $2 trillion in economic output and more than 8 million jobs.
New Jersey, which employs 93,824 people in the industry, was highlighted in the report in a number of areas:
New Jersey and Puerto Rico were the only states or territories to specialize in four of the five main bioscience subsectors:
- Research, testing and medical labs;
- Bioscience-related distribution;
- Medical devices and equipment;
- Drugs and pharmaceuticals;
- Agricultural feedstock and industrial biosciences.
Trenton was listed as one of 26 metro areas that have a concentration in at least three bioscience subsectors.
“Given what’s going on in New Jersey right now, it is such an exciting time between some of the incubators that have opened and are opening, the brand new Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (at Seton Hall), the new governor who talks about innovation at every turn, this Research with New Jersey database that’s opening today—it’s just an exciting time like none other than I’ve ever seen,” said BioNJ president and CEO Debbie Hart.
“New Jersey’s numbers show a story of growth.”
Other notes related to New Jersey:
Research and development expenditures (in millions):
- Health science ($169.7);
- Biological and biomedical sciences ($127.2);
- Other life sciences ($118.3);
- Agricultural sciences ($42.9);
- Bioengineering/biomedical engineering ($30.9);
- Natural resources and conservation ($2.6).
NIH awards (in millions):
- 2017: $241;
- 2016: $240.1;
- 2015: $225.1;
- 2014: $228.5.
Bioscience-related venture capital investments (in millions):
- 2017: $320.17;
- 2016: $267.82;
- 2015: $216.01;
- 2014: $294.71.
Bioscience-related capital investments, by segments (in millions):
- Biotechnology ($396.5);
- Drug discovery and delivery ($354.8);
- Pharmaceuticals ($120.1);
- Therapeutic devices ($120);
- Health care technology ($25.8);
- Other bioscience and health care ($22.5);
- Monitoring equipment ($15.2).
Bioscience-related U.S. patents:
- 2017: 1,976;
- 2016: 1,798;
- 2015: 1,781;
- 2014: 1,748.
Bioscience-related U.S patents, by segment:
- Medical and surgical devices: 3,691;
- Drugs and pharmaceuticals: 3,084;
- Biochemistry: 2,592;
- Microbiology and enzymes: 503;
- Biological sampling and analysis: 345;
- Agriculture chemicals: 159;
- Genetics: 145;
- Bioinformatics and Health IT: 25;
- Novel plant variants: 19.
Biotechnology Innovation Organization is the largest trade organization in the world representing biotechnology. TEConomy Partners, based in Columbus, Ohio, calls itself a global leader in research, analysis and strategy for innovation-based economic development.
