Meeting the Future Needs of a Changing Community
iBIO has released its 2019 State of the Industry Report, titled Meeting the Future Needs of a Changing Community. This report provides an overview of the life sciences innovation community, benchmarks recent growth, identifies key trends shaping the community and provides recommendations to ensure the continued growth of the Illinois Life Science Industry.
By several metrics, the Illinois life sciences industry is large, growing and recognized as a national leader. First, more than 41,000 people are employed at life science companies statewide and increases in the number of life sciences workers at Illinois companies from 2014 – 2016 (latest statistics available) have outperformed national averages.
“ Despite these positive developments, continued growth in the Illinois life sciences community is not guaranteed.”
Second, the annual economic output of the life sciences industry in Illinois was $98 billion in 2016. Annual pay for the life sciences community was $129,866 in 2016, and with strong wage growth in all segments, the life sciences industry remains a major contributor to state and local taxes.
Third, the life sciences innovation ecosystem in Illinois has grown significantly over the past couple years. Our state’s companies reported over $14 billion in R&D expenditures in 2017, and our research-based universities have increased R&D investment and secured numerous NIH grants and awards. Recent key indicators of startup activity have also shown an upward trend, including patent products and venture capital (VC) investment.
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To support the future growth of our community, state and local governments will need to realign policy and community resources to support a startup- and growth-oriented ecosystem.