Massachusetts’ Biopharma Jobs Grew at Slowed Rate in 2023: Report

While Massachusetts’ biopharma jobs grew 2.6% in 2023 according to a new MassBio report, whether growth continues this year remains to be seen given recent layoffs and seemingly slowed hiring in the Genetown region. There was a significant drop in the number of Genetown job postings live on BioSpace for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023.

Massachusetts added almost 3,000 net new biopharma jobs last year despite headwinds and layoffs, accounting for nearly 17% of the state’s job growth, according to the MassBio Industry Snapshot. With that 2.6% increase, the state now has nearly 117,000 people in its biopharma workforce. However, the report noted, the job growth rate slowed compared to recent years. Based on MassBio’s data, pulled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• In 2022, jobs grew 6.9%, increasing from 106,679 employees in 2021 to 113,994 in 2022.
• In 2021, they went up 26.6%, jumping from 84,296 employees in 2020 to 106,679 in 2021.

Source: MassBio Industry Snapshot, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, July 2024

In addition, economic and industry headwinds stalled Massachusetts’ push to grow the biomanufacturing sector, according to the report. There was a loss of just over 2% of that workforce in 2023.

Earlier this summer, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation announced similar biopharma job growth findings. Its report noted that the state’s life sciences jobs grew 2.5% in 2023 compared to a 7.8% annual average increase from 2020 to 2022. The report also stated that jobs are expected to go up 32% by 2033.

One cause for concern for this year’s job growth is continued biopharma layoffs. There have been at least 25 reported in Massachusetts alone so far in 2024, according to BioSpace data. Those include:

• Takeda: In July, the company disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice that it would lay off 220 employees: 189 in Cambridge and 31 in Lexington.
• Aerovate Therapeutics: In June, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company disclosed to the SEC it would lay off “nearly all of its workforce” in the coming months. It stated that it had already notified 39 people—78% of its workforce—of their terminations.
• Sumitomo: In April, the company planned to lay off a combined 122 members of staff from Sumitomo Pharma America Holdings and Sumitomo Pharma Oncology in Massachusetts.

There may be some good news on the Massachusetts layoff front based on a BioSpace workforce planning survey that closed in early July. Survey results were used in the company’s 2024 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Trends H2 Update report. When asked if they anticipate making layoffs in the second half of the year, 72% of surveyed employer respondents in Massachusetts said no.

Regarding hiring in Genetown, there were far fewer job postings live on BioSpace during the first half of 2024 (4,422) compared to the same period of 2023 (11,303)—a 61% drop. Those numbers likely won’t surprise many given that, in general, biopharma employers have been hiring less this year, in part due to a tough funding environment. Some employers are also cutting advertising budgets, which may be contributing to reduced advertised job postings.

During the first half of 2024, Genetown job postings live on BioSpace hit a monthly high of 1,257 in January, when hiring is typically high for biopharma companies. They had a monthly low of 949 in April.

Genetown Job Postings Live on BioSpace: Jan. 1 to June 30, 2024

Source: BioSpace

It’s worth noting that in July, the number of Genetown job postings live reached 1,235, the highest number since January. In addition, according to the BioSpace workforce planning survey, 67% of surveyed employer respondents in Massachusetts said they’re actively recruiting, and 33% predicted their number of open roles will increase for the second half of 2024.

Those findings—and PitchBook’s Q2 2024 Biopharma Report data that indicate biopharma venture capital funding is on the rise—could be an encouraging sign for the state’s job market for the rest of the year.

Aside from the previously shared data, key MassBio report findings include:

• Massachusetts’s year-over-year R&D job growth was 3.7%, outpacing several states, including California (-4.3%), North Carolina (-1.4%) and Texas (2.6%) and offsetting a small loss of biomanufacturing jobs.
• The $3.26 billion of venture capital invested in Massachusetts-headquartered companies in the first and second quarters of 2024 is a 12.6% drop from the first half of 2023, when it was $3.73 billion. It’s the lowest total since 2019, which had $2.79 billion in venture capital investment.
• There is a 16% vacancy rate for lab space statewide, which the report described as more of an asset than the 0.7% vacancy rate just two years ago. As the funding environment changes, it noted, companies can scale in Massachusetts in a tenant-favored market.
• For the first six months of 2024, 17 Massachusetts companies were acquired for a total disclosed price of $28.9 billion, up from 11 deals totaling $10.5 billion during the same period of 2023.
• Through the second quarter of 2024, Massachusetts companies have acquired 16 companies for a disclosed total of $9.73 billion, up from seven deals totaling $649 million during the same period in 2023.

“This year’s Industry Snapshot reflects the tremendous resilience of our state’s defining industry,” said MassBio CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell in the report’s announcement. “Whether you look at last year’s job growth or this year’s M&A activity, there is no doubt the industry continues to find ways to keep progressing therapies toward patients. There are opportunities for expansion, especially in biomanufacturing, but industry investment must be paired with state resources for Massachusetts to remain competitive. This report gives us a new baseline and our forthcoming strategic plan a roadmap for another five years of economic and scientific advancement here in the Commonwealth.”

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