East Coast, or the Atlantic Seaboard, comprises the farthest
east states of the US, including New York, North Carolina, Virginia and
Massachusetts. It features natural wonders and historical sites, but it's
mainly gaining global attention due to its growing life sciences hubs. From
making heavy investments in biomedical research and R&D to offering
millions of life sciences jobs in the USA, the eastern states have
positioned themselves as a leading innovation hub.
Let's discuss the growth of life sciences on the East Coast
and its impacts on the country's economy!
Growing Life Sciences Hubs on the East Coast
The US life sciences or biotech industry contributed a whopping $3.2 trillion to the economy and will only increase in the next few years. Here's an overview of the East Coast states that are majorly leading this quick growth:
Massachusetts
Massachusetts is the epicentre of life sciences and has become the #1 biotech hub in the world, leaving behind a close rival, California. It's home to 1,200 life sciences companies, including top employers like Takeda, Sanofi, and Fresenius. These companies produce high-quality pharmaceuticals and other plasma-driven therapies to treat rare diseases, oncology, and gastroenterology.
Here are some other key points that shed light on the life sciences industry in Massachusetts:
- 120 top-ranked academic institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Boston University, and other research institutions pave the way for continuous innovations.
- 35 million square feet of commercial biopharma space and 700k litres of biomanufacturing capacity, which is among the highest in the world.
- Life sciences jobs in the USA (Massachusetts) topped 140,000 for the first time in 2023, and 38,000 new jobs are expected to be added by 2033.
- Abundance of life sciences talent as the state's educational institutions are 1.4 times more concentrated in life sciences than the national average.
- Produced an average of 7,600 graduates annually from 2021 to 2023 who are eager to contribute to the life sciences industry.
- Massachusetts-based companies received a massive $7.89 billion in VC funding in 2024, which accounts for 28.3% of the total VC funding.
