The following are excerpts from an article in The Boston Globe published on August 25, 2026:
The state’s biopharma workforce shrank by about 3,600 employees in 2025, to a total of 113,503, as industry headwinds and uncertainty about federal funding for scientific research battered the sector, according to the annual “industry snapshot” by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council trade group. Compared to 2024, the workforce declined by 3.1 percent.
But before you bet against landing a biotech job in Massachusetts, take note: the 2025 employment total is almost certainly already out of date, said Ben Bradford, head of external affairs for MassBio. That’s good news for Massachusetts, where biotech pumped roughly $42 billion into the state’s economy in 2024, according to the group’s most recent available estimate.
Workforce numbers typically lag behind a recovery, said Bradford and industry experts. And after a years-long slump, biopharma has come roaring back in 2026, as much of the more recent data in the report illustrates.
At least eight Massachusetts biotechs made their own acquisitions in the first half of this year, including Biogen’s purchase of Waltham-based immunology company Apellis Pharmaceuticals for about $5.6 billion. The deal was among the largest under Biogen chief executive Chris Viehbacher.
“I love seeing the M&As, the IPOs, and the venture capital flowing,” said Bradford. “The hope is that we’re on the upswing again.”
