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Local Tech Wire

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – A new biotech industry report shows that the Research Triangle Park area is home to nearly 24,000 life science related jobs, and those in turn help generate another 83,000 jobs.

The report, released Monday at the annual Biotech Industry Organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, was prepared by the Battelle Memorial Institute.

Numerous other studies over the years have documented the RTP area as one of the nation’s largest biotech cluster outside of California and Boston.

“This study again demonstrates the steady growth and diversity of the Research Triangle Region’s life sciences cluster and the high rate of return for investments made by the region and the state of North Carolina over the past 25 years,” said Peter Pellerito of PMP Public Affairs Consulting in Chapel Hill, who was a contributing editor and author for the Battelle report.

is conducted every two years.

The issued a statement with some details from the report as full details were disclosed in Chicago.

“Dozens of U.S. states and foreign nations would love to have this diverse industry cluster,” Pellerito said in the statement provided by the RTP group.

Among the report’s highlights:

The Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan statistical areas are home to 10,816 drug and pharmaceutical jobs, which pay an average salary of $74,829.

Each of those jobs generates another 4.6 jobs in the state and regional economy

North Carolina is home to 18,789 drug and pharmaceutical jobs.

The Triangle MSAs also are home to 12,988 research and testing jobs. These pay an average salary of $75,829.

Each of the positions generated another 2.6 jobs.

Durham-Chapel Hill ranked first among MSAs with employment between 75,000 and 250,000 with jobs in two key sectors of life sciences employment: research, testing and medical laboratories jobs (8,720) and drugs and pharmaceuticals jobs (6,755)

Raleigh-Cary ranked fourth in drugs and pharmaceutical jobs (3,331) and 11th in research, testing and medical laboratories jobs (3,718) in large MSas employment for life sciences.

“The report shows that the Research Triangle Region continues to be well positioned to compete,” said Charles Hayes, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.