Georgia’s Life Science Industry Shows 14.7% Employment Growth over Past Decade

April 17, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

Georgia Bio releases 2019 edition of the state of the life sciences
industry report.

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–“The life sciences sector in Georgia is resilient and growing.” This
according to a report previewed today by RTI International (RTI) for
Georgia Bio. “ From 2007 to 2017, employment in life sciences grew by
14.9%, compared to 7.7% nationally, and 8.7% growth in private
employment across all industries in the state.”

The report identified 1,960 unique life science establishments that
contributed 68,300 jobs and $10 billion to Georgia’s Gross Domestic
Product. Accounting for multiplier effects, the industry supports a
total of approximately 194,000 jobs and contributes $21.8 billion to
Georgia’s GDP. This represents 3.7% of Georgia’s total non-farm
employment and 3.7% of Georgia’s 2016 GDP.

“The high potential for the life sciences industry to enhance both the
economic and physical well being of all Georgians is a top reason
Georgia Bio and the Georgia BioEd Institute work hard to ensure the
state’s educators and career development professionals can access the
resources they need to ensure our workforce meets the needs of the fast
growing, care-focused, high paying industry,” said Georgia Bio President
and CEO Maria Thacker-Goethe.

The life sciences industry offers Georgians high-value jobs that are
commensurate to education and experience. Of the 20 most common
occupation types, 42% of jobs require a high school education or
equivalent, while 32% require a bachelor’s degree. Of the 10 occupations
projected to grow over the next decade, seven require postsecondary
education, ranging from technical and associate’s degrees (4),
bachelor’s degrees (2), and doctoral or professional degrees (1).

Thanks to a robust university research system and the presence of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), institutions based in
Georgia received $549 million in NIH research funding in 2018. Moreover,
annual NIH funding to those institutions has grown by 20% since 2010,
more than double the national average of less than 8 percent.

“Since 2010, the number of federal small business research innovation
grants for life science startups has doubled in Georgia,” said Russell
Allen, President and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance. “With the
ingenuity of our universities and the strong support from our government
and industry we are seeing more life science inventions making their way
from the lab to the marketplace and, most importantly, into the lives of
Georgians.”

The full 2019 Georgia Life Sciences State of the Industry Report will be
made fully public in the coming weeks. The state of the industry report
is supported by funding from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization
(BIO), Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Global Health
Alliance, Georgia Research Alliance, Johnson & Johnson, PhRMA, UCB, Inc.
and VWR, part of Avantor.

About Georgia Bio

Georgia Bio is the state’s trade association committed to driving
growth in Georgia’s biosciences industry and its many sectors, including
agri-biotech, food and nutrition, bio-based technologies and renewable
chemicals, industrial and environmental biotech, medical devices and
technologies, pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare, diagnostics and
research products, testing and research services, and clinical research.
Georgia Bio members include bioscience companies, academic and research
institutions, bioscience service providers, digital health companies,
and related organizations. For more information, visit www.gabio.org
or follow us on Twitter
@Georgia_Bio
.

Contacts

Kristina Forbes
404-920-2043
[email protected]