Biotech Sector Continues Strong Growth into 2022
by King White, on May 12, 2022 3:20:01 PM
The U.S. biotech sector continues to grow rapidly as venture capital, private equity, and IPOs fuel R&D and expansion. According to Precedence Research, the global biotechnology market size will be about US $1.7 trillion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%. North America is the largest market segment for this surging industry which makes developing and implementing the optimal site selection strategy critical.
Key U.S. biotech clusters are located in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Northern Virginia, and Raleigh-Durham. Attractive secondary markets include cities and regions like Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, and upstate New York.
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill continues to be a vibrant biotech R&D cluster. For example, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies plans to invest $2 billion in a new manufacturing facility for pharmaceutical ingredients, creating 725 new jobs. Another new project in the Raleigh area is Amgen’s announcement to build a new manufacturing facility that will produce various products for medical therapies. The $550-million project will create 355 jobs. In Durham County, Jaguar Gene Therapy will invest $125 million to build a new 174,000- square-foot gene therapy manufacturing facility, resulting in 200 jobs.
In the West, the hottest states for biotech are Texas, California, and Utah. In Salt Lake City, for example, Denali Therapeutics will invest $40 million to establish a new research and development center, creating 100 new jobs. Scalable Bio Foundry, which operates a biotechnology company, plans to invest $20 million to also establish a R&D facility in Salt Lake City (64 jobs). In Logan, Cytiva, formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences, will invest $231 million to expand its existing therapeutics manufacturing operations, creating 396 new jobs within the next 10 years.
Site selection factors such as labor availability, labor costs, business climate, site utilities and infrastructure, economic incentives, and real estate must be evaluated carefully due to the significant financial implications of the location decision.
To help understand where biotech companies have located and expanded, Site Selection Group has identified 25 of the largest biotech projects announced in the US since 2021.
25 Largest U.S. Biotech Projects
1/1/21 to 4/30/22
| Company | Location | Capex ($M) | # of Jobs |
| FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies | Raleigh, NC | $2,000.00 | 725 |
| Amgen | Raleigh, NC | $550.00 | 355 |
| Moderna Therapeutics | Norwood, MA | $400.00 | 375 |
| Amgen | Columbus, OH | $365.00 | 400 |
| FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies | College Station-Bryan, TX | $300.00 | 150 |
| Cytiva | Logan, UT-ID | $231.00 | 396 |
| CARsgen Therapeutics Corporation | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $157.00 | 200 |
| Element Biosciences | Multiple locations, CA | $127.20 | 422 |
| List Biotherapeutics | Fishers, IN | $125.00 | 210 |
| Jaguar Gene Therapy | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $125.00 | 200 |
| Curia | Albuquerque, NM | $100.00 | 274 |
| Life Technologies | Grand Island, NY | $90.00 | 878 |
| Adverum Biotechnologies | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $82.80 | 200 |
| Twist Bioscience | Wilsonville, OR | $70.00 | 400 |
| Sorrento Therapeutics | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | $68.20 | 1,034 |
| MilliporeSigma | Madison, WI | $65.00 | 50 |
| Novavax | Gaithersburg, MD | $50.00 | 942 |
| Genezen | Fishers, IN | $40.00 | 62 |
| Denali Therapeutics | Salt Lake City, UT | $40.00 | 100 |
| CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $36.60 | 500 |
| Eurofins Genomics | Louisville, KY | $35.70 | 20 |
| Aditx Therapeutics | Richmond, VA | $31.50 | 300 |
| Scorpion Biologics | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $24.00 | 44 |
| Viridos | Multiple locations, CA | $23.50 | 71 |
| Scalable Bio Foundry | Salt Lake City, UT | $20.00 | 64 |
Source: Site Selection Group, Local Publications, IncentivesFlow
