People outside of Maine tend to think of our economy as built around lobstering or logging. And those sectors are certainly part of the economy. But, as this issue of Mainebiz shows, the economy also benefits from life sciences, biotech and innovation. The life sciences industry has a $2.2 billion impact on Maine. Some 9,500 […]
People outside of Maine tend to think of our economy as built around lobstering or logging. And those sectors are certainly part of the economy.
But, as this issue of Mainebiz shows, the economy also benefits from life sciences, biotech and innovation.
The life sciences industry has a $2.2 billion impact on Maine. Some 9,500 life sciences jobs have been created, according to the Bioscience Association of Maine. Perhaps more significantly, those jobs pay an average of $108,000 a year. In the past five years, the increase in life sciences jobs in Maine has outpaced the other five New England states. If you had to name a company in this space you might first think of IDEXX Laboratories, but there are nearly 500 firms in the life sciences industry in Maine.
Our cover story, by Senior Writer Renee Cordes, looks at how startups in the life sciences and biohealth field are hustling to raise money. The story starts on Page 14.
A feature on how AI is used by the medical field in Maine, written by Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber, starts on Page 20.
Also in this issue, we include the annual issue of Innovation Hub (formerly known as Startup Hub). This year we expanded the concept to look at how innovation takes root in Maine.