Published March 2004

Biotech: growing industry for a diverse economy

A new source of economic prosperity is growing in a laboratory right here in Snohomish County, nurtured by the type of scientific genius that in past years chased smallpox to the point of oblivion and discovered penicillin in mold.

Today’s biotechnology frontiers are even more esoteric. Washington state companies are leading research into genomics, informatics, proteonomics and nanotechnology. They stand on the threshold of major breakthroughs that will revolutionize medical diagnostics and therapeutics in ways that will increase economic prosperity locally and healthful living throughout the world.

Snohomish County already is benefiting from this economic sector. Our county is home to 25 percent of all Washington state biotechnology and biomedical companies and 26 percent of our state’s biotechnology employees. Local biotechnology leaders include ICOS, Amgen, Philips’ Advanced Technology Labs, Sonus Pharmaceuticals and CombiMatrix, to name just a few.

There is a reason this success is right in our back yard.

The Seattle-Everett metropolitan area is recognized as one of the top 10 biotechnology clusters in the nation. While the industry’s research and development will, in large part, remain in King County due to the location of key research facilities, Snohomish County, with its cluster of mature medical device firms and start-up biotechnology companies, will benefit from the industry activity in King County.

As many as 35 of the state’s 190 biotechnology and medical device firms already are located here, employing approximately 5,000 workers in 2002.

Encouraging this industry is critical to Snohomish County. Current figures show we still suffer from one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. It is important to attract growing industries that not only provide living-wage jobs but also strengthen our local economy.

The EDC believes biotechnology and biomedical device research continue to offer Snohomish County the opportunity to further diversify its economy. That’s why it has named biotechnology/biomedical research a key area of focus.

In March, the EDC is backing up its belief in the future of biotechnology in Snohomish County with action.

The EDC again is a sponsor of Invest Northwest, a two-day forum designed to allow investors, analysts, investment bankers, institutional investors, pension-fund managers and pharmaceutical and biotech corporate partners to meet with senior executives from public and private life-sciences companies based in the region.

Invest Northwest, presented by the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association in collaboration with B.C. Biotech, BioAlberta and the Oregon Biosciences Association, is scheduled for March 22 and 23 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle.

The very next day, March 24, ICOS chief executive Paul Clark will keynote the EDC’s quarterly economic update luncheon. ICOS, based in Bothell, has grown from its initial 65 employees to more than 500. Its Cialis was approved for use and launched around the world in 2003 and already has achieved $200 million in sales.

Also, the EDC plans to sponsor a briefing on biotechnology and biomedicine to Snohomish County elected officials, a Biotech 101 workshop that will provide local leaders with specific ways to build a strong local economic development program that supports the retention and expansion of the biotechnology and biomedical industry in our community.

Now is the time to support efforts to grow Snohomish County’s diverse economy, as well as to strengthen overall the biotechnology and biomedical device industry in Washington state. In March, the EDC is backing up that support with action.

Deborah Knutson is president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. She can be reached at 425-743-4567 or by e-mail to dknutson@snoedc.org.

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