San Diego Ranks #3 in National Life Sciences Markets

In conjunction with this year’s 2014 BIO International Convention, held this week at the San Diego Convention Center, Jones Lang LaSalle came out with their annual rating of life sciences clusters throughout the nation.  San Diego comes out as one of the top three, dropping down a spot from last year.

The San Diego Business Journal covered this year’s rankings, getting feedback from some of JLL’s executives on what changed. Boston and San Francisco came out as #1 and #2 respectively. Strong growth in life sciences jobs and patents contributed to San Francisco’s rank this year. San Diego’s shift in demand from more mature companies to smaller enterprises likely contributed to the region’s ranking.

Carlsbad’s life sciences industry contributes to San Diego’s strength. With over 130 companies in the life sciences field, the industry provides over 7,400 jobs. Top employers include Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly Life Technologies), Genoptix, OptumRx, Zimmer Dental and ISIS Pharmaceuticals. Carlsbad companies have been awarded over 850 patents between 2006-2013. Within the San Diego region, Carlsbad is a major player in the life sciences industry.