Economic Impact of Health Research

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

Source of R&D Funding Investment State Rank
Federal Government $4,680,300,000 4
Industry $288,800,000 38
Universities $63,800,000 34
Non-profit $8,500,000 36
Other * $74,000,000 15
Total $5,114,400,000 19

* 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 642 $40,587
Medical Device 847 $31,496
Research, Testing, and Laboratories 4,322 $57,676
Overall Private Sector  $30,076

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

Los Alamos National Laboratory has an annual economic impact of $3.8 billion on the three-county region of Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Rio Arriba.

In FY 2003, the total economic impact of the out-of-state funds that the University of New Mexico drew in was $641 million in output and $326 million in salaries. UNM also supported nearly 9,400 jobs.

In FY 2006, UNM received nearly $300 million in external contracts and grants for research.

UNM's Health Science Center supported 6,800 jobs and had an economic impact of $508 million in output and $251 million in compensation for the state of New Mexico in FY 2000-2001.

UNM's Science and Technology Corporation helped start up 8 companies which have had a combined economic impact of $37 million on the state in addition to supporting 143 workers and paying more than $10 million in compensation.

Sandia National Laboratories directly employs 7,000 people and generates $500 million in salaries for the New Mexico economy. Additionally, Sandia spends more than $400 million for equipment and supplies.