Report Highlights Lucrative Benefits of Biosciences Sector

Today, a new report was released in Albany on the development and economic value of New York’s bioscience industry.  Leaders from the state’s business, academic and advocacy sectors were in attendance, including Heather Briccetti, President and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Kathleen Arntsen, President and CEO of the Lupus Foundation of Mid and Northern New York and Yacov Shamash, Vice President for Economic Development and the Sciences at Stony Brook University, representing SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.

The report can be found here.

New York’s bioscience industry provides 250,000 jobs, generates $309 million in personal state income tax and over $5.63 billion in wages per year.  The State’s bio power attracts hundreds of millions of federal research dollars, including over $560 million from the Centers for Disease Control and over $490 million from the National Science Foundation.  Yet, New York can do more to expand this industry.

The report makes the following recommendations: The establishment of a Governor’s Council to help integrate the state’s public sector with biopharma and to create a marketing campaign for use within the state and beyond our borders, regarding the benefits of conducting business in New York.  Secondly, the report recommends an infusion of financial resources for bioscience companies, including matching grants and dedicated funding streams.  The industry would also benefit from an increase in the amount of affordable incubator and lab space for early-stage and startup companies.  These recommendations were derived from the input of CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, academic institutions and state agencies.

Bioscience is a highly competitive industry, where states vie for the privilege of having companies operate within their borders.  States know that bioscience development leads to new construction, increases in brain power, clinical trials, marketing, sales, legal and financial jobs as well as ancillary benefits such as boosting local economies through the demand for more services.  We hope that New York does more to make the environment user-friendly for this industry.  There’s no downside; only benefits to the state’s economy and its consumers.

-Jaime Venditti, 5/10/12