cross-sectional study<\/a> of 356 new drug approvals from 2010 to 2019 backs that up. It found that NIH funding was associated with 99.4% of the approved drugs.<\/p>\n\n Venture Capital Turned Around in 2024, Jumping 31.3%<\/p>\n
NIH funding wasn\u2019t the only life sciences investment that increased in 2024, according to CLS data. Venture capital deals jumped 31.3% last year, a notable contrast from the 5.6% decline in 2023 and better than the 10.3% increase in 2022.<\/p>\n
The decreased venture capital in 2023 was in part due to market uncertainty and rising interest rates, which made investors more cautious, Guerra explained. In 2024, he noted, investor confidence started to return, and some deals that had been planned in 2023 closed.<\/p>\n
The Bay Area attracted more venture capital last year\u2014$12.5 billion\u2014than any other region in California, fueling new startups, technologies and treatments, according to the sector report.<\/p>\n
\n Sector\u2019s Continued Success Hinges on Talent, Capital, Tax Reforms<\/p>\n
The California life sciences sector\u2019s continued success depends on strategic investments in infrastructure, research, education and access to capital, the report noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cA strong talent pipeline and access to capital are critical for turning discoveries into real-world solutions, and it\u2019s what California is really known for,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cThe continued growth really depends on investing in the full ecosystem, from education all the way through commercialization in the grand scheme of things. And when government takes away the opportunity to invest, it gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guerra noted how the state and federal government have affected life sciences companies\u2019 research and development (R&D) investments. For example, he said, last summer brought changes to California\u2019s state tax credit, meant to address the state\u2019s budget deficit. Signed into law in June 2024, SB 167\u2019s provisions include limiting the use of tax credits\u2014including those for research and development (R&D)\u2014to $5 million for tax years 2024 through 2026.<\/p>\n
Another bill signed into law shortly after SB 167 could provide some relief, as it would eliminate the limitation for tax years 2025 and 2026 if the state\u2019s budget improves sufficiently.<\/p>\n
Guerra also mentioned the federal government\u2019s R&D tax credit as challenging. It requires businesses to spread out domestic R&D expenses over five years and foreign expenses over 15 years rather than deduct them in the year they were incurred.<\/p>\n
A tax bill that could provide relief by reversing this amortization requirement passed the House in May.<\/p>\n
Other financial challenges that California\u2019s life sciences sector faces, according to Guerra, include high housing costs and other states offering better business incentives, such as great perks for startups. He noted that companies must decide if they can afford to be in California, looking at their burn rates of whatever funding they have so they know how long it will last.<\/p>\n
\nIf I go to California, how long can I survive versus if I take these incentives in another state, and can I get the talent I need there?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIf I go to California,\u201d Guerra said, \u201chow long can I survive versus if I take these incentives in another state, and can I get the talent I need there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Guerra noted that it\u2019s disappointing that California doesn\u2019t have better incentives.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things we\u2019ve fought for for years unsuccessfully is to give California companies a reason to stay when every other state is out there trying to give reasons to move into other states,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Guerra noted that he doesn\u2019t expect the state to start offering better incentives in the near future, in part due to the budget deficit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hope is there,\u201d he said. \u201cThe probability probably isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interested in more career insights?<\/b>\u202fSubscribe to\u202fCareer Insider<\/a>\u202fto receive our quarterly life sciences job market reports, career advice and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Life sciences employment in California grew in 2024 but at a slower rate than the previous two years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3092],"tags":[51,897,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-199734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114715459814110820","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}