Founded in 1989, the Oregon Bioscience Association (Oregon Bio), a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade organization, develops and advances the bioscience industry in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Formed through a consortium of partners including universities, public officials, and bioscience industry professionals to foster the region's growing ecosystem, Oregon Bio now represents 1,000 companies, labs, institutions and organizations, including Oregon's research universities, ranging in size from small startups to multinational corporations.
According to the most recent data (2017), Oregon's bioscience industry provides a $10.7 billion footprint in total economic activity to the state. The sector employs more than 47,000 people, an increase of 76 percent from 2002 employment levels, and pays $1.5 billion in wages. Additionally, bioscience companies, startups and organizations contribute $1.9 billion in local, state, and federal tax revenues.
"At Oregon Bio, our mission is to accelerate the ongoing expansion and success of the bioscience industry across the state and in Southwest Washington," said Liisa Bozinovic, the executive director of Oregon Bio. "We do that in several ways that fall under three operational pillars: advocacy, education, and cultivation."
Advocacy
Oregon Bio's advocacy and policy support initiatives focus on promoting policies that benefit the industry and positively impact local and global markets, including ecosystem and workforce development, access to funding mechanisms that spur innovation, market and trade growth, and both expanding and protecting patient access to innovative and often life-saving therapies. As a part of this work, Oregon Bio hosts a yearly biotech summit to educate and inform legislators on the social and economic value of the sector and the need for continuing support to grow the industry in the Northwest. Oregon Bio deploys these activities at the state level in Oregon and Washington and at the federal level. Oregon Bio is proud to be the leading industry voice for the creation and broad-based public support of Oregon’s signature bioresearch center, the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute.
Education
Oregon Bio provides a wide range of educational and professional development opportunities for the region's bioscience workforce through their BioPro program. The team at Oregon Bio develops certificate programs and course offerings with smart and up-to-the-minute guidance from an advisory committee comprising members to meet industry-specific needs and maintain a highly-skilled workforce. Industry experts teach the courses.
Oregon Bio offers certificates in Quality Assurance, Medical Device Foundations, and Advanced Manufacturing. Individual course offerings cover general interests, FDA and quality, manufacturing and R&D, leadership and management, and communications and marketing. Since the BioPro program launched in 2007, it has served more than 2,400 workers.
"We worked very closely with our members to develop and implement BioPro," Bozinovic said. "The courses and certificates Oregon Bio offers ensure our member companies can continue to upskill their current workforce and make way for entry-level positions for folks coming out of universities and colleges. In my experience, there's not another program I've seen that is quite as robust as what we offer our members."
Cultivation
The third pillar in Oregon Bio's efforts to support the bioscience industry is maintaining a pipeline of innovation and talent. To achieve this aim, Oregon Bio offers various events for members (including Oregon's research universities). Offerings include networking opportunities, lunch-and-learn meetings on industry-specific topics, angel/pitch offerings and conferences. See Oregon Bio's events calendar for more details.
Throughout 2020, Oregon Bio launched the “Bio, Business and Good Beans” content series to help companies and professionals find resources for research labs and equipment, personal protective gear, finding and implementing financial support from the CARES Act, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and key administrative and research-related topics.
In addition to this work, Oregon Bio partners with startups and universities to promote pathways into the industry for freshly-minted entrepreneurs, faculty members, and students. Oregon Bio hosts an annual conference showcasing university research (basic and translational) and hosts internship fairs to connect students with companies throughout the region.
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Oregon Bio also offers other benefits for its members, including BIO Business Solutions, which provides discounted services from vendors. While it's a company's size that determines the cost and membership tier it belongs to, member benefits remain the same. For organizations interested in becoming Oregon Bio members, more information is available on the membership page. Portland State University is an Oregon Bio member. As a member university, Oregon Bio’s services are available to PSU faculty, staff, and students interested in the bioscience industry.