Florida?s Bioscience Leaders Publish Report Providing Snapshot of Industry Growth

Highlights Bioscience as Becoming a Stronger Part of Florida?s Economic Portfolio

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While other states are seeing a decline in biotechnology investment and entrepreneurship, the biotechnology industry in Florida continues to grow, with venture capital investments surging by 200 percent, according to a report released today by BioFlorida. Florida?s BioPulse ? A Snapshot of the Bioscience Industry, provides top-level insight on the growth of the industry by the University of Florida?s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator based on its Florida BioDatabase.

?As the industry grows it will continue to spur innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development.?

?The increased number of biotechnology companies and growth of biomedical venture capital investments are promising indicators of the long-term success of bioscience in Florida,? says BioFlorida Board of Directors member David L. Day, who serves as director of the UF Office of Technology Licensing and the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator. ?As the industry grows it will continue to spur innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development.?

BioFlorida released the first edition of the bi-annual report, Florida?s BioPulse, during the BIO International Convention and on the heels of Battelle?s ? the world?s largest independent research and development organization ? Annual Report. The Battelle report provides a more detailed and comprehensive look at the entire bioscience industry across the United States. The 2012 report supports the information published in Florida?s BioPulse, finding that from 2001 to 2010 industry business establishments grew by close to 33 percent and job growth increased almost 19 percent in Florida ? while the nation experienced a business establishment increase of less than 13 percent and industry job growth of only 6.4 percent.

Florida?s BioPulse provides a snapshot of what the bioscience industry has been doing over the past eight years. It credits the growth of the biotechnology industry in Florida as having been sparked by Florida?s commitment ? beginning under then Governor Jeb Bush ? to establish a life sciences industry in the state by attracting major research institutes such as Scripps Research Institute. According to the report, the industry has grown by 42 percent over the past five years, with nearly 200 biotechnology companies calling Florida home. In addition, biomedical venture capital investments increased during 2011 in Florida ?200 percent more than in 2010, with nearly $87 million. While this number is less in absolute dollars when compared to the leading bioscience states, the percentage growth of venture capital investments is much larger.

The Battelle report also indicates the increase in research, testing and medical laboratories in the state is having a positive impact on Florida?s private sector, as the drugs and pharmaceuticals sector shows the largest growth from 2001 to 2010, with business establishments increasing by 74 percent during the time period.

With further data and analysis provided by the University of Florida?s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, BioFlorida is working on a larger, more comprehensive report of the bioscience industry in Florida that is scheduled to be released during BioFlorida?s 15th Annual Conference in October. The second edition of Florida?s BioPulse will take a more comprehensive look at the state of the industry and the impact it has on business development, jobs and medical advancements.

?The first edition of Florida?s BioPulse provides a 30,000-foot-view of the positive trends Florida?s bioscience industry is seeing,? says Michael Schmitt, MD, life science analyst and Florida BioDatabase editor. ?The second edition will provide bioscience stakeholders with information that dives deeper into the comprehensive data collected and analyzed by The Florida BioDatabase.?

To read the full report, click here.

About BioFlorida

BioFlorida (BioFlorida.com) is the voice of Florida?s bioscience industry, representing more than 3,000 companies and research organizations in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device fields that employ 61,000 Floridians. BioFlorida?s member-driven initiatives provide a strong business climate for production of quality, life-improving technologies; and promote economic benefits to the state.

About The Florida BioDatabase

The Florida BioDatabase (FloridaBiodatabase.org) is a freely accessible public database provided through the University of Florida?s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator (SidMartinBio.org) that tracks the biotechnology industry in Florida through a number of metrics. The Florida BioDatabase follows the industry held standard of defining a biotechnology company according to the Ernest & Young guidelines that include core R&D and involve the use of modern biological techniques to develop products or services for human health care, animal health care, agricultural productivity, food processing, renewable resources, industrial manufacturing, and environmental management. The Florida BioDatabase does not include healthcare services companies or medical device companies without a bio-component.

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