Bioscience industry in Ohio has $148.2 billion economic impact

Courtesy of BioOhio

COLUMBUS, Ohio — “As Ohio gains national bioscience prominence, and as our industry grows and becomes a larger part of Ohio’s economy, BioOhio will continue to address issues of common interest but also address areas that are of specific interest to Ohio,” said BioOhio President & CEO Tony Dennis in late January.

BioOhio is the state’s bioscience development organization. Dennis and others visited Congressional and state leaders in Washington last month to tell them about the bioscience industry’s importance in Ohio.

“Ohio’s bioscience industry is very well-positioned to benefit from the federal stimulus, which can help us maintain our growth momentum and ensure that bioscience is part of the long-term solution for creating a robust and resurgent Ohio economy,” Dennis said, at the time.

BioOhio defines the state’s bioscience industry as three sectors: Commercial bioscience; hospitals and health care providers; and medical colleges. The economic impact of Ohio-based bioscience is $148.2 billion, representing 15.7 percent of the state’s total economic output, according to BioOhio. Bioscience directly and indirectly generates 1.4 million jobs in Ohio.

The commercial bioscience sector alone — makers of drugs, therapies, medical devices and equipment; research and development facilities; medical laboratories; medical imaging centers; and agricultural feedstocks and chemicals — accounts for a $33.8 billion overall economic impact and 50,100 direct jobs, BioOhio says.

As of December 2008, 1,141 bioscience-related entities were operating in the state.