Montana Biotech

Spokane’s Gonzaga University may be most widely recognized for its nationally ranked men’s basketball team, but the private liberal arts school is aggressively positioning itself to be prominent in another field: Biotechnology research.

"Montana’s BioScience industry is steadily developing," said Montana’s Governor Brian Schweitzer.

In fact, there is increasing evidence that the biotech industry may converge with nonbiological technologies into a new and advanced industrial identity as science and business increase their creative collisions. No state or region looking toward their economic future will want to sit on the sidelines.

Federal allocations to research and development are likely to be "on the chopping block" as Congress looks to trim spending, Heesen said.

"Without venture capital investment, there would be no innovation in biomedical technology," said David Goodman of the Weinberg Group and co-author of the report. "The research would die on the vine at universities and other research labs."