Economy
Biotech + California = Economic Engine
California is home to several of the nation’s largest life sciences clusters. Our thriving industry is a leading employer, a powerful economic engine and a driving force behind developing the state’s biomedical workforce. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s biotech sector has proven vital in developing testing, treatments and vaccines to fight the virus and driving economic recovery. Our state’s prosperity is closely linked to the ongoing contributions of its thriving biotechnology industry, which generated a total of $372 billion in economic activity last year alone.
By The Numbers
$102B
Total biomedical exports from California biotechnology companies
$17B
Total estimate venture capital investment in California biomedical companies
$123k
Average salary California biotech employees were paid in 2019
1.4 Mil
Californians directly and indirectly employed by the biotechnology industry in 2019
481k
Californians directly employed by the biotechnology industry in 2019
1,380
Number of new medicines currently in California’s research and development pipeline
15.3k
Number of biomedical facilities in California, the birthplace of the biotech industry, in 2019
6.5B
Paid in direct state and local taxes by California biotechnology companies