HJNO May/Jun 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS  I  MAY / JUN 2021 59 Specialization in the bio industry sub- sectors is easily measured by employment concentration. There is opportunity with- in Louisiana to develop hubs for various subsectors. For example, New Orleans may see itself become a hub for research, testing and medical laboratories, while Baton Rouge or northern Louisiana could become hubs for medical devices and equipment, agricultural feedstock and in- dustrial biosciences. Between 2016 and 2018, 41 states experienced job growth in the bio industry, yet no single state boasts specialization in all five subsectors high- lighted above. Only New Jersey and Puerto Rico have specialization in four of the five subsectors. Across the nation, the industry employs about 1.87 million people amongst over 101,000 establishments. And since 2016, the industry’s employment base has grown more than twice the growth rate for the overall private sector at about 7.2%. Even better, the average wages grew, too. As il- lustrated in the graph shown, when the Great Recession negatively impacted em- ployment rates by about 6.9%, the bio in- dustry employment rate only fell by about 1.4%. And when all industry employment fell by 2% after the 2001 recession, the bio industry actually rose by 2%. As New Orleans and the state of Loui- siana continue to grapple with COVID-19 and as leaders plan strategically for a more secure economy that can withstand future events, this data is worth keeping in mind. It provides guidance as to which industry sectors are worthy of investment in the sense that growth in industries such as bio could protect our population better against the vulnerabilities exacerbated by this global pandemic. Every state in the U.S. has a bio industry to varying extents, and leveraging our ex- isting assets such as NewOrleans’research institutions, biotech incubator and exist- Jeanette R. Weiland Vice President of Bio, Innovation, & Special Projects New Orleans Business Alliance ing talent are key to growing a bigger and stronger ecosystem. Two of New Orleans’ local and successful homegrown biotech companies are organ-on-a-chip technol- ogies, with both providing services and one selling product as well. Perhaps the microphysiological system niche is where New Orleans can focus in terms of reten- tion, expansion and attraction efforts. One could also argue that a simple root cause analysis would tell public and private lead- ers to invest dollars in the research phase, where it all begins. This has consistently proven politically tricky in Louisiana, as the ROI on such investments are long- term and not seen as a high priority com- pared to other short-term funding needs across the state. On a federal level, the NIH awarded almost $31 billion in research funding in 2019. Venture capital investments in U.S. biotech companies exceeded $102 billion over the last four years, which was split about equally between early seed invest- ing and later-stage investing. Although Louisiana is a relatively small state, it still has the opportunity to attract even more talent, who in turn can conduct dynam- ic research, make novel discoveries, earn more federal grants and commercialize technologies. The job of economic devel- opment organizations alongside both pub- lic and private entities is to help keep those startups here and support their growth into substantial job creators. Speaking of jobs leads to talent, and un- like other industry certifications, consis- tent certifications for biotech industry jobs do not exist at a national level. Therefore, across state lines and even within states, there is no baseline for formal educational skills that workers and employers can use as a bio skillset compass. Biotech workers may earn a degree or certificate in their field, yet the specific, required and/or mar- ketable skillsets are developed through actual experience. This obviously poses a challenge in terms of recruitment and workforce development, but there are pro- grams that can support private companies in their endeavor to find talent, such as the City of New Orleans’ “Job1 Business and Career Solutions” program that can help offset the cost of training for specific hires. Unfortunately, Louisiana did not experi- ence job growth (or very minimal; it held relatively steady) between 2010 and 2018 in the bio sector, and worse, the state expe- rienced job loss in the sector between 2016 and 2018. The good news is that there are many organizations and individuals work- ing to turn that trend around for the better- ment of our community. The opportunity for Louisiana’s bio economy is real, and it is up to leaders from many sectors and perspectives to commit to the challenge. n