New Brunswick, NJ, February 4, 2011 — The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone today held a joint roundtable discussion on research and development investments and spurring medical innovation to improve global human health and create jobs in central New Jersey.
Academics and representatives from life sciences companies participated in the meeting at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick.
“Developing new medicines, medical devices and technologies is critical to improving global human health and growing our state′s economy,” said Dean J. Paranicas, president and CEO-designate of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey. “Enabling medical innovation to flourish is how we will discover the next great breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and countless other diseases. As a global hub of the life sciences industry, New Jersey will reap the economic benefits from the research and development of these new medicines and therapies, adding to our industry′s near $30 billion in economic contribution to New Jersey.”
HINJ represents 30 of the world′s most respected biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Many of these companies make New Jersey either their worldwide or North American headquarters, making the state the global center of the life sciences industry and known as the “Medicine Chest of the World”.
HINJ member companies directly employ more than 55,000 people at more than 125 locations across New Jersey, with nearly 76,000 additional “spin-off” jobs elsewhere in the New Jersey economy directly attributable to the life sciences industry. These companies are also responsible for $1.5 billion annually in construction activities that supported nearly 18,000 construction jobs in 2009.
According to the Council for American Medical Innovation:
- The health care industry in the United States provides approximately 14 million jobs and is expected to generate 3 million new wage and salary jobs between 2006 and 2016, more than any other industry.
- Seven of the 20 fastest growing occupations are health care related.
- Biopharmaceutical research companies employed 686,000 people and generated an additional 2.5 million jobs in other industries in 2006.
Medical innovation was a key aspect of President Barack Obama′s recent State of the Union address where he pointed to free enterprise as the driving force behind innovation and pledged to fund biomedical research.
New Jersey is home to more life sciences companies than any other state in the country, or any other country in the world. The biopharmaceutical and medical technology community is the cornerstone to New Jersey′s economy, making New Jersey the world′s leader in research and development.
Founded in 1997, the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) serves as a unified voice for the state′s biopharmaceutical and medical technology industry in New Jersey. It seeks to expand public access to the latest and most innovative treatments for diseases and build awareness of the industry′s impact on New Jersey′s quality of life and economic well-being. It helps to advance the development and implementation of sound public health and business policies that support the interests of New Jersey, its people and its life sciences industry.