A new study released this month by Battelle, the nation’s largest independent nonprofit research and development organization, traces developments in the bioscience industry on a state-by-state and national level.

Released in collaboration with 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.

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.

Oregon has fared well over the past decade. The report found that “The bioscience industry in Oregon has generally outpaced job growth compared with the national sector since 2001. The largest State bioscience subsector is medical devices and equipment (5,565 jobs). Academic bioscience research and development expenditures in Oregon reached $399 million in 2008, led by nearly equal amounts in the biological and medical sciences. Both academic R&D in the biosciences and funding from the National Institutes of Health are well concentrated in Oregon with per capita figures that are above average. NIH baseline funding has increased by 8.7 percent since 2004, and when the additional funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are taken into account this growth rate reaches 30.4 percent. During the last six years, $109 million in venture capital was invested in State bioscience companies, mainly in pharmaceuticals and medical/health information technology. The 879 bioscience patents issued over the same six-year period were well diversified across fields.”

Executive Summary: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2010/OREGON_profile.pdf

Oregon Report: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2010/OREGON_profile.pdf