Bioscience Industry
Bioscience Sector
Albuquerque is rapidly becoming a vibrant bioscience hub. Our mid-sized city has the bioscience expertise, research base, infrastructure, organized sector-specific leadership, and thriving startup ecosystem to support your business at the forefront of the industry.
Leadership & Resources
NEW MEXICO BIOSCIENCE AUTHORITY
- Serves as a catalyst to attract venture capital and entrepreneurs to invest in biotech startups spun off from technology developed at our research universities and national labs.
- Developed a certification program that helps bioscience companies identify locations in terms of infrastructure/utilities, regulatory framework, and workforce and training. Albuquerque is the first city to have qualified for the program.
THE BIOSCIENCE CENTER
- Incubator/accelerator for Albuquerque’s booming bioscience startup ecosystem. It contains offices and 10 wet labs (chemistry and microbiology). Regularly has a waiting list for lease space. https://www.thebiosciencecenter.com/
ACCESS TO LEADERSHIP
- Albuquerque offers easy access to City and State decision-makers, such as elected officials, community leaders, and business leaders. Elected officials regularly work with industry, creating policy and funding opportunities to help support growing clusters.
Competitive Assets
WORLD-CLASS R&D, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND BIOSCIENCE EXPERTISE
- 6 major research institutions throughout the state, with half located in Albuquerque: University of New Mexico (ABQ), Sandia National Laboratories (ABQ), Air Force Research Laboratory (ABQ), New Mexico State University (leader in agricultural bioscience), New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- The UNM Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque is the Center of Excellence in the state for biosciences. It helped create 62 bioscience companies via tech commercialization from 2007-2019.
- Bioscience-related inventions have seen the largest number of awarded patents by industry in New Mexico (U.S. Patent Office).
INFRASTRUCTURE
- 8 eligible locations at various stages of preparation – from basic infrastructure to “shovel ready” sites and existing bioscience buildings with R&D and laboratory space
- Available inexpensive land in rural and urban areas
- Established road/rail network: Albuquerque is strategically located at the intersection of two major interstates and is equidistant between the ports of Los Angeles and Houston.
- Central location in the fast-growing Southwest region
LOW-COST/CERTAINTY OF OPERATIONS
- Almost zero natural disasters
- Reliable utilities
- Low outbound trucking costs
- Among the lowest green energy costs in the country
- Inexpensive labor relative to biotech hubs such as Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego
HIGHLY-TRAINED WORKFORCE
- New Mexico universities annually produce highly skilled bioscience graduates and lab technicians ready to fulfill positions within the industry.
- Specialty workforce training programs focused on the needs of the bioscience industry are available as needed from Central New Mexico Community College.
Incentives
ALBUQUERQUE/NM INCENTIVES
- Bioscience IRBs
- Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP): Funds employee training for new jobs in expanding or relocating businesses for up to 6 months. Reimburses 50%-75% of employee wages.
- Tax credits for high-wage jobs, technology jobs/R&D, and manufacturing investment
Albuquerque Bioscience Landscape
MAJOR BIOSCIENCE COMPANIES IN ALBUQUERQUE
- AMRI (Albany Molecular Research Inc.): pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
- Jabil: health care tools, such as medical devices, surgical tools, and orthopedics.
- IntelliCyt: a home-grown provider of integrated platforms that accelerate drug discovery, antibody screening, and immuno-oncology research, was purchased in 2016 by German powerhouse Sartorius for $90 million. It still operates in ABQ.
- NanoDiagnostics: point-of-care diagnostic solutions.
- AVISA Pharma: medical device company working to mitigate antibiotic resistance.
- Innate Immunity: plant and crop health, prevention of pathogen-induced diseases.
- VisionQuest Biomedical: AI software to detect eye diseases and diabetes complications.
- Pebble Labs: improving global food security.
- GPER G-1 Development Group: drug discovery and development company.
- Nature’s Toolbox, Inc. (NTx): working to secure the global vaccine supply.