Economic Impact of Health Research

Investment: Funding sources for overall research and development (2004)

Source of R&D Funding Investment State Rank
Federal Government $6,074,000,000 3
Industry $9,610,000,000 5
Universities $106,900,000 24
Non-profit $148,500,000 4
Other * $47,500,000 23
Total $15,986,900,000 3

* Other represents funding from state and local governments and funding for Federally Funded Research and Development Centers from non-federal sources.

Source: National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources , 2006


Economic Impact: Statistics for research-driven health industries (2004)

Industry Employment Annual Salary
Pharmaceutical 6,979 $100,994
Medical Device 21,755 $75,207
Research, Testing, and Laboratories 23,315 $84,706
Overall Private Sector  $49,218

Source: Battelle Memorial Institute and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growing the Nation's Biotech Sector: State Bioscience Inititives 2006


Highlights from local economic impact studies

Greater Boston's teaching hospitals and affiliated medical schools generate $24.3 billion in economic activity each year and employ more than 110,000 directly and support nearly an additional 100,000 jobs.

Harvard University had an economic impact of more than $3.4 billion and supported more than 33,000 jobs in 2002. In the same year, Harvard spent $522 million on research with only 2% of that amount coming from state or local government. The 11 hospitals and research centers affiliated with Harvard drew in more than $750 million from the federal government for research.

In 2000, the eight major universities in the Metropolitan Boston Area and their affiliated hospitals and research centers spent more than $2.5 billion on research. These eight universities also directly employed 50,750 people and gave the regional economy a $7.4 billion boost.

According to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the biotechnology industry in Massachusetts consists of 280 firms and 30,000 employees.

The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council reports that the medical device industry has a total economic impact of $8.3 billion and supports nearly 49,600 jobs.