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      Vol.1 Number 1, Winter 2004       Latest Industry News

Bioscience industry in Oregon is still small and growing incrementally.  Oregon state has three main components necessary to foster its biotech industry growth: government support, strong research universities and a well-trained work force. In fact, there is strong commitment for development of biotech cluster both at public and private level. “The Portland Development Commission, the city's economic development and urban renewal agency, has identified bioscience as a key industry for the city and Mayor Vera Katz has created a Biotechnology Committee composed of business leaders from the community whose role is to assist the agency in retaining, growing and recruiting bioscience and pharmaceutical companies to the city, and also to oversee the development of a Science Park in Portland.” (OBA, 2003). 

Oregon Bioscience Association (OBA) was formed in 1990 to promote the economic development of biotechnology in the state. According to  Oregon Bioscience Association  (OBA) "Oregon Bioscience Industry Study 2002",  Oregon's commercial bioscience sector includes 185 companies in the following industries: medical devices, chemicals and reagents, human therapeutics (drug discovery and development), life sciences-oriented information technology, in vitro diagnostics, agriculture and food, and environment and waste. More than 3,300 people are currently employed by bioscience companies in Oregon, a 10 percent increase since 1999.

Three-Year Growth of the Industry

In 2001 alone the Oregon bioscience industry generated more than $350 million in revenue, up 15 percent from 1999 figures. Oregon's revenue growth of 15 percent compares with national revenue growth of 41 percent in the biotechnology industry (as reported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization), and Oregon's bioscience employment growth is comparable with the national average biotechnology employment growth of 12 percent. Research and development expenditures were reported as 33 percent of total expenditures (approximately $300 million). More than half the respondents reported that their R&D budget was spent entirely in Oregon.

Source: OBA Study,2002

As in the OBA study (2002) has been  underlined  that Oregon lacks significant private venture capital firms that invest in Oregon bioscience companies.  The state government sought to stimulate entrepreneurial company development by forming the Oregon Resource and Technology Development Corporation (later Fund), initially seeded from lottery funds, that had as part of its charter the funding of companies based on university technology transfer.  The Fund invested in early stage (seed and applied research) companies to develop them to the point that private venture capital was willing to invest. The Fund made several bioscience investments, including investments in current Oregon bioscience companies.It was revamped as the Oregon Resource and Technology Development Account under the Oregon Growth Account in 1999 to resolve concerns, similar to those resolved by Ballot Measure 10, of an Oregon entity holding stock.  The Account had no outside management and made no new active investments for several years.  In 2002 it was placed under the management of Northwest Technology Ventures, and is again considering early stage investment to bioscience companies. Over the past three years, 17 Oregon bioscience companies reported receiving more than $120 million in capital funding, with 90 percent from venture and public stock market sources. Three-quarters of that funding has come from outside the state. Of those 17, 12 companies raised angel funding and nine reported venture funding. Two public companies reported raising more than $40 million of the aggregate.

 Growth of the Bioscience Industry in Oregon depends on growth of top-quality bioscience research in the State’s universities of Oregon, and medical institutions. Oregon has four premier research universities (Oregon Health and Science University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Portland State University) performing top-notch experimentation in life science disciplines.

One of the most impressive resource for new biotech start up companies is the Oregon Biotechnology Innovation Center, a 13,000-square-foot office and laboratory facility that provides both shared and private laboratories, shared lab equipment and office equipment. The center allows new companies to devote more of their limited resources to the research and development of new products by sharing space, costly equipment and overhead. The Biotechnology Innovation Center was designed to meet the needs of emerging bioscience companies, more particularly those which have raised seed capital or are ready for their first round of venture capital funding. The Biotechnology Innovation Center, through its executive director, board of directors and programming, assists tenant companies by promoting visibility and networking with the venture capital community and various service providers. To the extent that Oregon’s academic and industrial research environment can continue to flourish, and that capital can be found to support commercialization, the bioscience industry in Oregon has a bright future.

Reference: Oregon Bioscience Industry Study 2002, prepared by   Oregon Bioscience Association the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and the Portland Development Commission

 To contact author please send e-mail to halimei@etm.pdx.edu  

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