U.S. Biopharma Clusters: Who Made The List?

By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA

Innovation hubs and biotech clusters are both buzzy terms in the C&G space today, especially given how many small C&G companies are entering the ring seeking lab and small-scale manufacturing space. Given the talent shortage in this space, as well, being in the biopharma hotspots can be critical for recruitment and training purposes.

GEN annually ranks biopharma clusters and just released its list of 2020’s Top 10 Biopharma Clusters. To rank each city, they looked at several variables, including NIH funding, VC funding, biotech patents awarded, lab space, and jobs.

The winners — no surprise here — were Boston/Cambridge, MA, followed closely by San Francisco, and New York/New Jersey. Philadelphia, which has adopted the immensely clever name “Cellicon Valley,” came in at number 7 on this list of 10. Raleigh-Durham — in ninth place — has seen growth over the past year primarily thanks to C&G company additions or expansions, namely from Audentes (Astellas), bluebird bio, Novartis, and Pfizer. Biogen’s recently announced gene therapy manufacturing facility will also be joining these ranks.

Though Boston/Cambridge has held first place for a handful of years, the biotech growth occurring in San Fran, New York/NJ, the Maryland/VA& DC area, and San Diego could give Boston a run for its money in the upcoming year(s).

For more details on each of the 10 profiled areas, be sure to check out GEN’s thorough write-up.