PwC: California biomedical companies report

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Life sciences companies in California developed nine of the 32 novel medicines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012, according to the annual California Biomedical Industry Report, published recently by BayBio, California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PwC US.

The California Biomedical Industry Report provides an annual snapshot of the biomedical industry in California, the largest biomedical cluster in the world and source of the greatest number of products in clinical development. The 2013 report found California to be No. 1 in jobs: Biomedical industry employment in California has grown at an average annual rate of 0.5 percent over the past five years. There are currently 269,997 people employed in the total biomedical industry, and 152,806 employees in the core sectors of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, instruments and diagnostics, and research and development/testing laboratories.

The 2013 California Biomedical Industry Report includes findings from a survey of 175 biomedical company CEOs, who report significant improvements in the FDA regulatory process over the past year and a notable reduction in project delays due to regulatory issues. Despite this progress, biomedical companies say that lack of adequate funding, government pricing intervention and the FDA regulatory environment represent the biggest risks to future success in biomedical innovation.

Though California biomedical companies attract the greatest share of venture capital, overall access to capital has become an increasing challenge for the entire industry. The funding model is changing, and California companies and research institutions are at the forefront of national trends driving an increase in partnerships and alternative sources of funding.