Utah continues to flex its life science industry muscles, with statistics and characteristics bolstering a belief that its growth will continue.
At the recent Utah Life Sciences Summit, hosted by the trade association BioUtah, speakers basked in the sunny stats and rosy outlook.
“As one of the fastest-growing life sciences hubs in the nation, we are well suited to shoot for the stars in terms of innovation, expansion and raising our national and global profile,” said Mark Paul, immediate past chair of BioUtah and executive director of the University of Utah Center for Medical Innovation. “While markets like Boston are declining, we continue to see very impressive growth.”
Utah’s life sciences sector has companies focused on medical devices, diagnostics, biotech, biopharmaceuticals, digital health and imaging. That sector has about 1,600 companies in the state, contributing over 180,000 direct and indirect jobs and nearly $22 billion in state GDP.
“By any showing, this is an impressive measure,” Paul said.
Likewise, BioUtah membership reached 288 last year, up from 188 in 2022 and 244 in 2024. The state now has over 20 venture funds that invest in life sciences companies,” which Paul said represents “a significant increase from a decade ago.” Utah also has a 74 percent higher life sciences employment concentration than the nation, just behind Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Paul acknowledged the help from state government in establishing what is now the Nucleus Fund to provide state backed-venture capital for promising startups; the Nucleus Institute to driving innovation through the power of academic, industry and government collaboration; the Talent Hub, a platform for talent development; and working with local leadership “to provide a welcoming and nurturing environment for life science innovation.”
“We’re very lucky,” added Jefferson Moss, executive director of both the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Nucleus Institute. “This is an exciting time to be in this industry. … Over the last few years, it’s been incredible to watch the growth and just the wonderful companies that are coming out of Utah and that continue to grow in Utah.”
Moss listed several attributes at the forefront of its strong life sciences growth, including having a young, highly educated workforce, with a median age of 32 years old. “When you look at other states and other countries, we’re seeing that decline. It’s critical that we continue to have that young workforce, for the success of these companies. In other words, keep having babies,” he jokingly told the crowd. “It’s working. Keep doing it. It’s something we’re really proud of.”
Utah also has a top education system that is among the most affordable; a regulatory environment based on limited government, with a goal to “keep it nimble and get out of the way”; stable government; tax credits and incentives; and a growing venture capital environment, he said.
The state also benefits from a low unemployment rate and economic diversity. “Even as different industries sectors kind of hum and flow and go through different transitions, because of the diversification, we continue to have an incredible economy,” Moss said.
Utah also is becoming an international business hub, aided by global connectivity from air, rail and highways, he said. “I’m hearing more countries, as their companies are thinking about coming to the U.S., it used to always be ‘We’re going to go to Boston,’ ‘We’re going to go to San Francisco.’ That’s typically been the case, but we’re seeing more and more of them looking outside of those hubs,” he said.
Quality of life is among the reasons, he said, adding that companies’ employees “really care” that the state has mountains, outdoor recreation, entertainment and the arts. “All of those are so critical to the success of Utah,” he said.
Utahns also tend to collaborate, convene and connect. “Even as a growing state, and we’re getting bigger, we still act like a small state,” he said.
Utahns also are nice, he hears from companies considering the state for expansions. “Again, one of those things that I wouldn’t have thought of as a competitive advantage,” Moss said, “but our niceness apparently is a really big thing for people.”