Top Five Regions Targeting Biotech Companies - 2006

Everybody knows where to find the big biotech clusters in the U.S.: Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle make just about everyone's short list. Each of those cities offers a compelling set of reasons why an emerging drug developer would want to call it home. In quite a few cases, of course, a city grew a big biotech cluster because existing companies helped spin off new players that weren't really interested in moving.

But dozens of states--and some international zones outside our borders--are actively shoveling money and resources right at biotechnology. They're creating new, high-paying jobs for a well-educated work force. That's the future. So FierceBiotech set out to learn a little more about which areas of the country are working overtime to woo biotech companies their way. Which states have governors and legislatures willing to fork out cash incentives to create the biotech clusters of the future? Big vision issues aside, which areas also are going the extra mile to help managers just grow their companies?

We'll be the first to admit it's a subjective approach. There's no specific algorithm at work, but a certain kind of chemistry is required. And every year from now on we'll look at the fiercest economic development regions in the world. Of course, we'll be looking for regular feedback from all of you as well on which new areas to include.