S.D. reports strong bioscience industry momentum, job growth

July 23, 2018

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

South Dakota is adding bioscience jobs, increasing its research funding and producing more patents, according to a new report on the bioscience industry.

The study was done by BIO, the biotechnology industry’s largest trade organization, and TEConomy Partners, a global leader in research, analysis and strategy for innovation-based economic development.

It found South Dakota employs 6,601 people in the bioscience industry across 504 businesses. That represents 2.4 percent growth from 2014 to 2016, the period studied.

Three of the state’s major industry job sectors gained jobs: agriculture feedstock and industrial biosciences; bioscience-related distribution; and research, testing and medical laboratories.

“As biosciences continue to grow as an industry — including everything from technology to health care to agriculture jobs — we are pleased to see growth also in South Dakota,” said Joni Johnson, executive director of South Dakota Biotech, BIO’s state affiliate.

Significantly, the state has a higher concentration of bioscience jobs for its size than many others nationally. It ranked in the second of five quintiles.

The USD Discovery District in Sioux Falls, which recently announced its first two bioscience tenants, is expected to add hundreds of industry jobs, she added.

“And those could begin to occur in the next few years. It’s possible as studies like this are refreshed that we are going to see dramatic increases in bioscience employment,” Johnson said.

The study also found that South Dakota has seen recent increases in funding from the National Institutes of Health — from $20.6 million in fiscal  2015 to $23.5 million in fiscal 2017.

Biopharmaceutical companies to locate at USD Discovery District

“We are hopeful funding will continue to grow as our biotech research matures and intensifies,” Johnson said.

South Dakota also received almost  300 U.S. bioscience-related patents between 2014 and 2017.

“We know innovation is occurring at an even more rapid pace in our state,” Johnson said. “This is an area where South Dakota traditionally has had room for improvement, so we’re encouraged by the patent numbers and hope those continue to grow.”

To see the full report, click here.

 

 

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S.D. reports strong bioscience industry momentum, job growth

South Dakota is adding bioscience jobs, increasing its research funding and producing more patents, according a new report on the bioscience industry.

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