ATLANTA: The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) released new data on the bioscience industry in the United States this week during the BIO Digital conference.

The new report, The Bioscience Economy: Propelling Life-Saving Treatments, Supporting State & Local Communities, analyzes the bioscience industry’s economic footprint across the nation and in Georgia, the significant role of small- and mid-sized companies, and the industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Georgia’s bioscience industry has grown at a double-digit pace in recent years, outpacing the national growth rate and reaching 35,602 jobs in 2018. All five of the major industry subsectors have grown their employment base since 2016. Georgia’s research universities had bioscience-related R&D expenditures of more than $1.2 billion in 2018; funded, in part, by a growing base of NIH awards that reached $630 million in FY 2019. Venture capital investments in state bioscience companies rose in 2019 and during the 2016-19 period totaled $726 million.

Georgia, along with California, New York, and Wisconsin experienced the largest employment growth nationally in the agricultural feedstock & industrial biosciences subsector; and is one of the top 10 bioscience-related distribution employing states.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Georgia’s continued growth in the biosciences industry and the medical innovation it brings to patients around the world,” said Georgia Bio president and CEO Maria Thacker Goethe. “With 2,524 establishments in Georgia, the industry continues to be a strong contributor to the state and is quickly becoming a distribution hub for the industry.”

“The bioscience industry’s economic footprint reaches into so many local communities across the country. From capital investments to research & development, this report shows the impact of the biosciences across the nation’s innovation ecosystem. The bioscience industry is critically important to Georgia and we are proud to work closely with partners like Georgia Bio to help ensure the future of the industry and its role as an economic driver in the region,” said Pete Pellerito, BIO Senior Policy Adviser for Federal and State Economic Development and Technology Transfer Initiatives.

The state-by-state industry assessment is the ninth in a biennial series, developed in partnership by TEConomy and BIO, and studies the state of the U.S. bioscience industry and its associated innovation ecosystem at the national, state, and metropolitan area levels.

The analysis includes a fact sheet for Georgia, which can be found via the interactive map at www.bio.org/jobs.

The 2019 Georgia Bio Economic Trends & Impact Report analyzes Georgia’s Life Science Industry over the last decade and can provide additional data points.

Georgia Bio is the state’s trade association committed to driving growth in Georgia’s biosciences industry and its many sectors, including agri-biotech, food and nutrition, bio-based technologies and renewable chemicals, industrial and environmental biotech, medical devices and technologies, pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare, diagnostics and research products, testing and research services, and clinical research.