Developing Colorado’s Bioscience Cluster

In 2002 the Governor’s Office of Innovation and Technology partnered with a management team that included industry, university and government representatives – along with the Battelle Memorial Institute’s Technology Partnership Practice – to assess the status of the Colorado bioscience sector and develop a plan outlining the action agenda needed to make the biosciences a key driver of Colorado’s economy. That report, "Colorado’s Place in the Sun: A Bioscience Future, An Action Plan to Grow Colorado’s Bioscience Cluster," published In March 2003 kicked off the state’s focus on developing Colorado as the next bioscience business cluster.

Growth and development of a successful Colorado bioscience cluster depends on cultivating a business climate conducive to bioscience companies; nurturing an entrepreneurial culture for bioscience that turns research discoveries into new products, services and companies; and continued expansion of the state’s research base to build research excellence.

That focus on developing a state that fosters bioscience technology and innovation continued with the succeeding administration. On April 24, 2008 Governor Bill Ritter Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law a measure to provide $26.5 million in funding to expand Colorado's bioscience industry through expediting the transfer of research from the lab to the marketplace.

Today, Colorado is home more than 350 bioscience companies, ranging from biotech and pharmaceutical to medical devices and agricultural biotech. Together, these companies support more than 16,000 biotechnology jobs. with another 20,000 jobs are indirectly supported. The average salary for these positions is well in excess of $60,000 per year.

As Colorado continues to develop its place in the national and international bioscience arena, resources to support the efforts of its bioscience companies and the Colorado Bioscience Association membership continue to expand. This section outlines some key resources to support bioscience business – locally and globally.

Colorado Bioscience Links

Adams County Economic Development
Arvada Economic Development Association
Aurora Economic Development Council
BIO Business Solutions Page
City of Loveland
City of Westminster
Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade
The Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation
Colorado School of Mines Research Website
Colorado State University Research Foundation
Colorado State University Research Foundation - Technology Transfer Offices
Colorado State University Office of Research
Colorado Travel and Tourism
Denver Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade
University of Denver
Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering - Rocky Mountain Chapter
Jefferson Economic Council
Larimer Bioscience Cluster
Longmont Area Economic Council
Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
Metro Denver Economic Development Council
Metro Denver Area Economy Summary
National Jewish Health Technology Transfer Office
Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation
The Children’s Hospital Research Website
University of Colorado Office of Research
University of Colorado Office of Technology Transfer
University of Denver Office of Technology Transfer

National Bioscience Links

AdvaMed
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC)
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS)
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
ClinicalTrials.gov
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI)
Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Genetic Engineering News (GEN)
Health Industry Business Communications Council (HIBCC)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA)
Medical Marketing Association (MMA)
National Bioethics Advisory Commission
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Research Amer!ca
SBIR
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)