Economic Impact of Health Research

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

Source of R&D Funding Investment State Rank
Federal Government $4,507,700,000 5
Industry $2,557,900,000 19
Universities $137,500,000 19
Non-profit $47,900,000 17
Other * $94,000,000 11
Total $7,345,100,000 13

* 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 3,836 $65,975
Medical Device 3,619 $36,020
Research, Testing, and Laboratories 6,136 $57,059
Overall Private Sector  $40,112

Source: Battelle Memorial Institute and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growing the Nation's Biotech Sector: State Bioscience Initiatives 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 $9.1 billion and a total employment impact of 61,600 in 2005.

In FY 2005, George Mason University had an economic impact of $1.6 billion and directly employed 7,900 people.

According to the Virginia Biotechnology Association, more than 175 biotechnology, equipment, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies operate in the state. The Fairfax County BioAccelerator houses up to 12 early-stage bioscience or bioinformatics companies.

The University of Virginia had an estimated total economic impact of nearly $1.1 billion and directly employed 19,500 people in 2005. For every dollar from the state, U. Va generates $3.45 of new spending in Virginia. Each faculty position at the University generates more than $100,000 in sponsored research funding.

The Virginia BioTechnology Research Park has 50 biosciences companies, research institutes, and organizations and will employ more than 2,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, and technicians.