Mass. biopharma industry swells with Worcester topping charts, says report

A burst in the Massachusetts biopharmaceutical industry over the last year has dilated the sector’s employment and real estate demand, with projections of even greater growth in the next few years, according to a report released Wednesday from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Worcester County was the third fastest growing county in the state for research and development jobs, expanding 4.6% to 2,055 jobs in 2020, per the report.

From 2019 to 2020, Worcester County saw a 7.9% increase in biomanufacturing jobs, making up almost a quarter of the state’s jobs in that industry.

The report also said UMass Medical School in Worcester won the most funding of all higher education and research institutes in the state, receiving 349 awards for a total of $294 million in 2020. 

Additionally, Massachusetts added nearly five million square feet of biomanufacturing and lab space over the course of last year, and another 20 million is forecast to be added by 2024.

The new space will create a demand for 40,000 new employees, after biopharma’s employment rate grew 5.5% last year and marked a 92% increase over the last 15 years, said the report. 

Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, also known as MassBio, is headquartered in Cambridge, with its Central Massachusetts offices located in Worcester.