More than 1,100 companies are engaged in Iowa’s biosciences industry, ranging from large international companies, to small start-ups. According to the Battelle Memorial Institute's Technology Partnership Practice Report, Iowa's strengths are in animal and plant sciences, bioeconomy, biomedical imaging, drug discovery, development piloting and production, advanced food products, biosecurity/biodefense, post-genomic medicine, and animal systems.
Iowa is home to three renowned public research institutions. The University of Iowa ranks 12th among public research universities for National Institute of Health (NIH) funding. The Iowa State University Research Foundation ranks third in licenses and options executed on intellectual property and fourth in licenses and options yielding income. The Biosciences Alliance of Iowa is helping to make proprietary research at Iowa’s universities readily available to companies engaged in the biosciences industry.
The University of Iowa (UI) is a major research university with exceptional strengths in human health and medicine, biocatalysis, pharmaceutical development, simulation, medical imaging, human factor, and biomedical engineering.
For the 17th year in a row, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ranks overall as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” with six of the hospital’s specialties ranked among the nation’s top programs: Otolaryngology (2), Ophthalmology (6), Orthopaedics and Rehabilitations (7), Urology (17), Gynecology (30) and Kidney Disease (41). The UI’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center is the state’s only cancer center with prestigious “comprehensive” status from the National Cancer Institute.
Iowa makes a fundamental commitment to the success of bioscience companies through a number of incentive programs – including direct financial assistance, tax credits (including a doubling of the refundable R&D tax credit) and infrastructure funding. Bioscience companies can access a number of programs that stimulate job creation, capital investment and future community impact. Also available is the Iowa Values Fund – the state’s signature $500 million economic development initiative that helps companies expand and locate in Iowa as well as helps fund university research and development, workforce training and more.
Another critical component for the continuing success of bioscience companies is access to angel and venture capital. Thanks to legislation encouraging equity investments, the establishment of several venture capital community funds and a growing network of local investors, capital is readily available for companies in the biosciences.