New Jersey Touted as National Leader in the Value of Bioscience Innovation

On Jun 7, 2016

New Jersey is being touted as a national leader at the BIO International Convention taking place this week in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. During the session in which the report entitled “The Value of Bioscience Innovation in Growing Jobs and Improving Quality of Life 2016” was released by TEConomy and BIO, New Jersey was cited as topping the list of states with a high degree of specialization in four of five industry sub-sectors (all except agricultural feedstock and chemicals), as well as its leadership in the number of life sciences employees and business establishments.

The report noted that the industry grew in New Jersey adding nearly 2 percent to its employment base in three of five major sub-sectors from 2012 through 2014.

Meanwhile despite a decline in 2015 in venture capital investments in New Jersey life sciences companies, New Jersey was in the top quintile for venture capital investment over the period 2012-2015.

“New Jersey’s continued leadership in the life sciences industry is being touted here today and we can be proud of our place in delivering therapies and cures to the Patients who need them,” said BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart.

“However, a more recent decline in venture related investments in New Jersey companies is a growing concern. We are pleased to celebrate New Jersey’s notable stature here today, however, we must address this venture investment fall off with strategies that bring investors and investment into our State. There is a place for government, industry and academia in addressing this challenge and at BioNJ we are focused on making a difference in this critical arena.

“For today, we are celebrating our State’s leadership along with our New Jersey colleagues,” added Hart.

BioNJ is joined in representing New Jersey at the BIO Convention by Choose New Jersey, the New Jersey Business Action Center, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and many of the State’s research universities.

“The hard work continues when we get back home in addressing this challenge,” said Hart.

Other key takeaways from the report include:

New Jersey’s economy is 89 percent more concentrated in the biosciences than the national average (location quotient is 1.89) spanning four of the five major industry subsectors: drugs and pharmaceuticals; research, testing and medical labs; bioscience-related distribution; and medical devices. This distinction is shared only with one other U.S. territory, Puerto Rico and no other states.

Average annual wages were up in each of those four subsectors as well: 11.2 percent, 10.6 percent, 12.1 percent, 0.8 percent respectively between 2012-2014 with the overall annual wage of $142,308 up 8.1 percent in that same period.

Bioscience patent activity has increased in recent years increasing from 1,596 in 2012 to 1,851 in 2015.

New Jersey is in the bottom quintile for Academic Bioscience R&D expenditures per capita and in the Bioscience share of total Academic R&D.

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