In New Jersey, biotech industry is booming
It looks like New Jersey’s aggressive campaign to attract biotech business is paying off. According to a recent report, the state saw a 28 percent increase in the number of biotech jobs between 2003 and 2006. In 2003 there were 7,834 biotech jobs--that number jumped to 10,071 last year. Debbie Hart, president of the Biotechnology Council, credits the industry’s growth to start-ups, spin-offs from biotechs, spin-offs from universities, and companies relocating from other states.
Long the headquarters for major pharmaceutical firms such as Merck, J&J and Schering-Plough, New Jersey already had a strong presence in the life science industry. But in recent years, the state has made a concerted effort to attract smaller companies, taking the state’s biotech industry to a new level. In order to attract biotech business, the state offers tax credits, grants and loans, subsidizes office space and offers research funding. In 2004 New Jersey also set up its own $10 million life sciences venture fund that offers seed capital to start-ups. And late last year the New Jersey Legislature--which has been a leader in supporting controversial stem cell science--agreed to borrow $270 million to back new research into stem cells.
"Because of this [support], biotechnology companies are choosing to move here, new companies continue to emerge here and established members of New Jersey's biotechnology sector are thriving,” noted Michael Becker, president and CEO of Princeton-based Cytogen. In 2006, New Jersey was one of the five regions FierceBiotech named as a top area for of biotech growth.
