McKee’s Makes Big Claims on RI BioScience, But Reality Is Little Difference
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Governor Dan McKee held a press conference on Monday, making big claims about Rhode Island’s life science industry. McKee said that Rhode Island “is ready to become a leader in life sciences.”
The reality is somewhat more muted.
And, when asked to back up some of their claims, McKee’s office was unable to respond to basic questions.
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Small Industry
Rhode Island’s bioscience industry is small. According to McKee’s office, only 5,773 Rhode Island work in the industry — or about 1.3% of Rhode Island’s workforce.
But Rhode Island’s bioscience is dwarfed by the Boston metro area. Massachusetts has five times Rhode Island’s population but more than 18 times RI’s bioscience workforce. Massachusetts employs more than 106,000 in the bioscience industries.
Fierce Biotech reports about the robust Boston bioscience industry, “Right now, there’s more than 9 million sq. ft. of new lab space under construction and 4.6 million due to be converted, according to CBRE Research. That will add to an existing inventory of 47.2 million sq. ft. Companies new and old are putting down roots in Boston. Eli Lilly just signed a lease for more than 333,000 sq. ft. of new lab space in Seaport. Repligen renewed or expanded into 149,000 sq. ft. of space, and Intellia nabbed 139,000 sq. ft.”
For decades Rhode Island has been hoping to be a spinoff from Boston, but Fierce reports that Boston continues to dominate as a hub for start-ups, “Boston, unsurprisingly, remains the leading city for biotech startups and activity, with 135 tenants seeking space and more than 13.6 million square feet under construction. “
Higher Wages
McKee’s hope is that bioscience growth will grow the wages of Rhode Islanders.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, life, physical, and social sciences occupations are projected to grow by seven percent between 2021 and 2031 – and carry a median average wage of $72,740 in May 2021 (higher than the median wage for all occupations of $45,760).
The McKee administration claims that the bioscience industry is growing on the fast track, but was unable to provide backup to a range of claims.
The McKee administration could not provide any details on one key claim.
According to the press office and material handed out, the bioscience industry attracted $40 million in venture funds in 2021, but could not provide any backup as to what companies received funding from which venture or equity funds.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story stated MA employed 70,000 in biosciences. That is the number for metro Boston. Overall state employment in the bioscience industry in MA is 106,000.
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