Local Assets

The life science ecosystem in the Seattle/King County area is represented by a complex array of organizations including: biotechnology companies, medical device companies, research institutions, global health organizations, and healthcare organizations. Excluding healthcare, the industry is represented by a work force of approximately 22,000 individuals.

There is an endless array of leading-edge technology under development in our region. Top tier research universities such as the University of Washington and Washington State University, along with a multitude of private non-profit research institutions—including SeatttleBioMed, PATH, The Allen Brain Institute, the Institute for Systems Biology, the Infectious Disease Institute, Children’s Hospital, Virginia Mason, Pacific Northwest Diabetes Institute, and the Pacific Northwest National Labs—contribute to this stream of innovation and commercialization. The following technologies or fields of study were recently identified by the Life Science Discovery Fund as unique with respect to national and international leadership coming from the Pacific Northwest:

• predictive/preventive (P4) medicine driven by genomics and systems biology
• immunology/drugs that act through the immune system (including Dendreon and Seattle Genetics)
• bioengineering
• global health
• comparative effectiveness/outcomes research (important under the new era of cost-effective health care)
• medical ultrasound

In our efforts to support and foster growth in this sector, enterpriseSeattle has teamed up with the City of Bothell, the Washington State Department of Commerce, the University of Washington Bothell, the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County and the Washington Biotechnical and Biomedical Association in support of the Bothell area Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) for Biomedical Manufacturing.

enterpriseSeattle also helped create Cascadia MedTech Association  to promote the growth and development of the medical device cluster in Federal Way. The associations sister organization, Cascadia MedTech Accelerator is currently providing medical device companies with assistance in operations management, manufacturing, IP protection and regulatory affairs to name a few.

There are many nuances to the life science cluster and nothing is more effective than engaging enterpriseSeattle as you look to locate or expand your company here. enterpriseSeattle has been an integral part of the economic development fabric of this region for 40 years. Our Business Development Manager in Life Sciences can introduce you to key leaders in the life sciences industry, provide valuable demographic information, current data on the commercial real estate market, and the latest information on taxes and incentive programs.