The just-released 2011 California Biomedical Industry Report by the California Healthcare Institute, BayBio and PwC paints a bright picture for the California biomedical industry.

• For the first time in the report’s 17-year history, nearly twice as many biomedical CEOs said they intend to increase manufacturing within California (41%) versus outside the state (21%) over the next two years.

•  Sixty-eight percent of CEOs said they expected to expand the overall size of their workforce within California, while only 31% planned to increase workforce levels outside the state.

 •  Seventy-eight percent of CEOs surveyed said that they maintained or expanded R&D operations within California over the past year, and 88% plan to do so over the next two years, with the majority of those (62%) saying that they expect to expand R&D within California.

 •  The key reasons cited for locating in California were the availability of a highly skilled, entrepreneurial workforce and the state’s culture of innovation, anchored by leading research universities.

•  While relocating out of state was not a strategy cited by CEOs surveyed, when asked about the most attractive US biomedical markets outside California, 76% named Greater Boston followed by North Carolina (31%), Minneapolis-St. Paul (25%) and the Washington, DC corridor (20%).

For more on the report and to obtain a copy, visit www.medicaldesign.com and click blogs.