The life sciences cluster accounts for a large share of research conducted regionwide. According to the National Science Foundation, research awards to regional institutions totaled $1.361 billion in 2008, the 6th-highest total among all metro areas in the U.S.

The 2009 Milken Report ranks Greater Philadelphia 2nd in the overall composite score for research and development (R&D) with four out of seven R&D measures scoring 100. (For a complete list of the seven measures, see page 23 of the 2009 Milken Report).

More Milken Report findings for R&D in Greater Philadelphia:

• Region does better than most other metros in terms of absolute employment.
• 34.6% of the region's therapeutics and devices jobs were in R&D.
• Employment grew faster than the U.S. average between 2002 and 2007, placing Greater Philadelphia 1st in employment growth.
• Strong biotech R&D employment is a major factor propelling the Greater Philadelphia to the 1st-place ranking in the overall composite for therapeutics and devices (up from 3rd in the 2005 Milken Report).
• Improved access to seed and early-stage risk capital promoted growth in this sector.

Venture Capital Firms in Greater Philadelphia
Check out the Venture Capital firms within the Greater Philadelphia region. Intimately familiar with the unique needs of life science companies, their insight and breadth of experience help in providing guidance, grants, start-up and seed funding for early stage technologies as well as the purchase of older products from large pharmaceutical companies.

Additional Resources: 

• Check out our Life Science Resource Guide.
• Organizations such as the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), Pennsylvania Bio, BioNJ., and Delaware BioScience Association bring together entrepreneurial, venture and private equity organizations to create greater opportunities for cross fertilization of ideas, events and technologies.

Need Introductions?
Select Greater Philadelphia can be of assistance in introducing you to more than 41 venture capital companies headquartered in our region. They have a wealth of experience in bringing therapeutics, medical devices, drug delivery systems and more, to market sooner.

Call Select Greater Philadelphia at 800.221.0774.