As venture capital firms shift away from biotech investment, bankrolls are tougher to come by. Despite the uncertainty, the biotech firms that do succeed have a rosy future. Experts predict that the industry, which today employs around 120,000 people, will employ 200,000 within the first five years of the next century. The biotech industry remains clustered around a few hubs-Silicon Valley and its pretenders to the throne. A logical outgrowth of government and university-sponsored research, the private industry sector has remained close to its intellectual roots.
Insiders report a remarkable spirit of cooperation inherent in biotech firms.
Geographic proximity helps foster this attitude. The San Francisco Bay Area 2. New England 3. BioAGs cluster in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa. The industry has also advanced the country's largest manufacturing sector-the food processing industry.