Innovation, influence and business in America's medical cities.

Updated 8:55 p.m.

Complete this statement: The U.S. biotechnology industry is…

1. Battling the blues
2. Stumbling
3. Resilient
4. Booming

Allof theseanswers are correct and depend on where you’re sitting, in terms of geography and sector, according tofour separate Business Journal stories.

Times are tough for biotech companies, saysthe Denver Business Journal. Funding is hard to find. And many drug developers are expected to fail in coming months, largely because of the nation’s economic recession,experts say.

The impact of the recession is being aggravated by a perception that it’s tougher, these days, to get a drug through the Food and Drug Administration approval process, Jim Linfield of Cooley,Godward & Kronish LLP. Then there are questions about how health care reform could affect the industry’s economics, Linfield says.

Georgia’s life sciences industry is stumbling because of a dearth of corporate success stories, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Yet the U.S. industry is expected to outpace its European cousin, Financial Times says, writing from Atlanta where the Biotechnology Industry Organization begins its international convention today.

But according toan opinion piece in the Atlanta Business Chronicle co-authored by Jim Greenwood — CEO ofthe nationalbiotechnology trade organization — life sciences companies are resilient in the face of the challenging economy.

The future of the biotech industry is bright, in part, because manyAmericans rate finding cures for diseases as a top national priority, Greenwood writes.

Growth of biomedical business, research and development in Northeast Ohio grew faster than the national average in each of the last five years.

Theindustry is booming in the Golden Triangle of research facilities and biotech companies in San Diego, according to the Orlando Business Journal. Orlando’s Lake Nona communityon Fridayopened an $85 million satelliteof San Diego’s Burnham Institute for Medical Research, where the local bio group says the region’s life science cluster has gone from “dreams to reality.”

And inTexas, the life sciences industry has had a $75 millioneconomic impact on the state economy, according to the San Antonio Business Journal.

Boom or bust? You decide.

More stories worth a read:

• Anaphore rakes in $13M in second VC closing(FierceBiotech)
• Cell Therapeutics Inc. closes Italian facility, reduces headcount and expects to cut $14 million in operating expenses(BioSpace.com)
• Omniguide raises another $1.8 million(MassDevice)
• Nursing unions on the verge of revolution(FierceHealthcare)
• With $4.25M seed fund, Alliance of Angels looks to take Northwest investing to a ‘new level’ (Xconomy| Seattle)
• Cleveland Clinic CIO named to federal advisory committee on health information technology(PRNewswire)
• Of mice and mothering: Clinic researchers find brain chemical seroatonin may be an influence (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Filling the gap: Akron health agency stretches its safety net as recession digs in (Akron Beacon Journal)
• PartsSource named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ohio Chamber of Commerce(PRNewswire)
• St. Mary’s Memorial Home in Glendale closing after more than 50 years (Cincinnati Community Press)