An inside look at one of Utah’s booming industries: Biotech
Jan 24, 2025, 8:00 PM
Lon Tracy, PolarityTE research specialist, works at the facility in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns often hear about Silicon Slopes. However, another type of tech industry is making big waves in the state’s economy as well: biotech.
BioUtah President Kelvyn Cullimore told KSL NewsRadio that it’s grown into a $22 billion industry in the Beehive State.
“I think many people would be really surprised to know the kinds of technologies that are being done here,” Cullimore said.
He said local companies are working on things like aortic valve replacements, new cancer-fighting techniques, and even brain-computer interface technology.
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Cullimore said biotech is different from other tech fields because it’s all about “life sciences.” This means utilizing technology to improve and save people’s lives.
“We’re seeing new technologies for treating cancer that are amazing. Diagnostics that can tell you what kind of Alzheimer’s you have. We’ve got drugs that are coming out to address neurodegenerative diseases,” Cullimore said. “All of this is being done right here in Utah.”
And with the technological advancements come employment opportunities. Cullimore said companies with BioUtah directly employ 50,000 people in Utah.
“Utah is, depending on which study you look at, either the second or third fastest growing life science community in the United States and has been for a decade, which means we’re generating jobs at a rate of over 5% growth every year. So there is significant opportunity for jobs.”
He said those jobs can include everything from high-level engineering positions to jobs on the manufacturing floor. And all those jobs pay on average 50% above the going rate for Utah.
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The state is also allocating funds to higher education to get people ready to work in the life sciences field, Cullimore said. He’s confident the state is putting its weight behind the growing industry.
“We feel very strongly that the state is not only behind us, [but] our institutions of higher education are [also] behind us,” Cullimore said.
