SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO & LOS ANGELES & SAN DIEGO– Biocom California, the association representing the California life science industry, today released a new report showing California’s life science industry provides over 1.38 million jobs in the region, with economic activity generating a total of $131 billion in 2020 alone. Biocom California’s 2021 Economic Impact Report highlights these key findings of the state’s life science industry, including information on economic, demographic, investment and industry performance.
“The 2021 Economic Impact Report is a refreshed analysis and vital barometer of the profound impact that the life science industry has in California,” said Joe Panetta, president and CEO of Biocom California. “This report reveals how the last year affected our industry, its millions of related jobs and overall economic impact across the state, as well as how critical the life sciences have been during an unprecedented global pandemic. In sum, the industry experienced a positive 0.5 percent growth when compared to many other sectors of California’s economy, which contracted more than 7 percent. Overall, the work the industry undertakes every day has a significant economic impact on California, providing high-paying jobs across the state that contribute to the economic health of our communities.”
Key facts from the report include the following:
- California received a total of $6.23 billion in research funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2020.
- In 2020, venture capital directed to California’s life science innovators soared more than 60% to a record total of $15 billion.
- Nearly 1,700 patents were granted in 2020.
For this year’s report, a new proprietary Biocom California Index was developed to track the performance of California’s life science sector over time based on a weighted-average of multiple metrics. The state’s life science sector has tripled since 2000, representing a compound annual average growth rate of 5.6%. In 2020, the Index jumped 19.6%, the largest gain over 21 years.
“Across its many sectors, products and people, the life science industry is an incredibly complex ecosystem,” said Mr. Panetta. “Ranging from venture capitalists, government entities, universities, real estate brokers and patent attorneys, our industry relies on countless constituents to help it flourish, and new indicators such as VC funding and the number of granted patents highlighted in this year’s report give us a broader understanding of the current and potential future opportunities for the industry.”
