Market Outlook for Bay Area Biotech

Factors that make the Bay Area a unique setting for the Life Science Industry

The Bay Area is unique in that it offers a virtual melting pot of culture, beauty and charm found nowhere else in the world. There are four major research universities with three medical schools that call the Bay Area home: Stanford University, UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis. Supplying a well-educated workforce to life science and biomedical firms comes naturally in such an environment.

Northern California contains 34% of all venture capital investment firms. Combine this with the entrepreneurial spirit of Bay Area residents and it’s no wonder the region boasts the highest concentration of biotech firms in the world.

Expected Growth
As a whole, the biotech industry is very young–80% of the companies located in the region are less than 9 years old. Biotech has continued to grow and receive venture capital money despite the most recent economic downturn. It is projected that overall employment of science technicians will grow by 10-20% through 2012.

Taking into account the 90,000 jobs created by the 900 companies currently in the region, growth projections are staggering for such a short amount of time. It is estimated that 6,000 jobs have been created in the past 12 months due in part to this emerging industry. Growth can be attributed to an increase in science and medical research centralized around biotechnology and development/production of technological products.

Numerous entrepreneurs are entering the biotech market with aspirations to dominate industries such as bio-fuels, alternative energy, and medical. The Bay Area currently is home to about 20 million square feet of biology lab space. The vacancy rate for biotech space is below 10%, leaving very little room for future growth and new construction is scarcely keeping up with the current demand.