Economic Impact of Health Research

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

Source of R&D Funding Investment State Rank
Federal Government $672,700,000 26
Industry $2,095,900,000 23
Universities $191,000,000 14
Non-profit $41,500,000 19
Other * $37,100,000 28
Total $3,038,200,000 25

* 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 5,240 $63,506
Medical Device 4,717 $40,364
Research, Testing, and Laboratories 9,676 $78,858
Overall Private Sector  $35,035

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

The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that the member medical schools and teaching hospitals in the state had a combined economic impact of $10.4 billion and a total employment impact of 73,400 in 2005.

Every dollar from the state to the University of Missouri System generates $5 in annual operating revenues. The system employs nearly 26,000 people with a total payroll of $940 million.

The Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis began with an initial investment of $27.1 million. The incubator drew in $719 million from outside investment and created 26 companies and 300 knowledge-based jobs.

In 2004, the University of Missouri-Columbia generated $1.93 in the Missouri economy for every dollar spent by the University. The University had a total economic impact of $3.7 billion on the state and supported 68,000 jobs.

In 2006, the life sciences industry in the Kansas City region consisted of 199 companies employing between 17,500 and 20,000 people. Since 2002, the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute has awarded 38 grants with a return of 8:1 on their investment.

In FY 2006, Washington University in St. Louis had a total economic impact of $2.2 billion on the local economy and directly employed 12,400 people. The University received $546 million in research funding, more than 80% of which came from federal sources. This funding supported about 12,000 jobs.

The Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative invests in improvements to public higher education institutions in Missouri and is expected to generate $22 for every dollar invested.