Economic Development

The Biopharmaceutical Sector’s Economic Impact in New York State

New York is a leading biopharmaceutical state, second only to California in its employment base.

New York is the home to the corporate headquarters of Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Biopharmaceutical companies supported a total of 201,341 jobs in New York in 2008 – 49,289 directly in the sector and 152,052 in other sectors. Of the jobs outside the biopharmaceutical sector, 72,157 were supported by biopharmaceutical sector activity within the state, while 79,896 were supported by biopharmaceutical activity in other states. By comparison, the film and TV industry supports only 36,000 direct jobs and an additional 70,000 indirectly.

Direct biopharmaceutical wages in New York were estimated to be $2.8 billion in 2008, resulting in an estimated $646.7 million in federal taxes and $99.4 million in state taxes.

In 2008, the New York biopharmaceutical sector supported $50.9 billion in total output. Economic output represents the value of the goods and services produced by the sector and its ripple effects.

According to a recent study conducted by the Public Policy Institute in April 2011, for every life-science research position New York creates or retains in the sector, an estimated 3.458 jobs arise.Click here to read the report.


BioNY.org is a comprehensive website developed to be a one-stop shop for information relating to New York State’s life science community. This website is an effective tool for cultivating a strong environment where biotechnology firms can grow and prosper as well as drawing established companies to New York. In addition, www.BioNY.org will help industry strengthen ties with academic biotechnology research centers and scientists around New York. The goal is to foster the growth of new companies and jobs here in New York.


In February 2009, Archstone Consulting published a study entitled “Economic Impact of the Biopharmaceutical Sector on New York State.” The report shows how important the biopharmaceutical sector is to New York State’s economy and the sector’s potential for continued economic contributions in the future.