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 & charm found no where else in the world. There are four major research universities and three medical schools that call the Bay Area home; these include 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.
The Northern California region contains 34% of all Venture Capital Investment Firms which ranks it #1 in the Nation. Combine all these factors with the entrepreneurial spirit exuded by the Bay waters and its no wonder the Bay Area boasts the highest concentration of Biotech firms in the world. The buoyancy of the Biotech Industry is just proof to the longevity the industry encompasses.
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. Despite the youth of the industry, a trend is being seen, even in economic downturn biotech has continued to grow and consume Venture Capital money. It is projected that overall employment of science technicians will grow by 10-20% for all occupations through 2012
. Taking into account the 90,000 jobs created by the 900 companies currently in the region, projections are staggering for such a short amount of time. It is estimated that 6,000 jobs have been created alone in the past 12 months due part to the emergent industry. Growth can be attributed to an increase in science and medical research centralized around biotechnology and development/production of technological products.
Onslaughts of entrepreneurs are entering the market with high aspirations to dominate industries such as Bio-fuels, alternative energy, and medical research leading to the cure of an array of dieses and viruses. 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. New construction is scarcely keeping up with the current demand.
