SelectUSA Life Sciences Industry
Industry Overview
The life sciences industry in the United States is built on decades of innovation and discovery. Growth in the U.S. life sciences industry is driven by several factors such as technological advancements, rising demand for personalized medicine, and an aging population.
For information on foreign direct investment related to the life sciences industry, please refer to SelectUSA’s Life Sciences industry fact sheet.
The United States is the world’s largest market for pharmaceuticals. In 2024, total pharmaceutical sales reached approximately $719 billion. The top three sales categories were patented, generic and over the counter (OTC) drugs.
The U.S. pharmaceutical industry is known for its innovation and is a world-leading research and development (R&D) hub. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) membership survey, biopharmaceutical firms in the United States spent about $104 billion on R&D in 2024. The pace of biopharmaceutical innovation has had solid growth over the last decade – new drug approvals by the Food and Drug Administration increased from 273 between 2005-2014 to 465 between 2015-2024, a 70 percent increase.
Employees in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States work across a broad range of occupations, including scientific research, technical support, and manufacturing. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the biopharmaceuticals industry cluster employs more than 321,000 individuals. California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Utah have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the biopharmaceuticals industry cluster.
Aside from a highly skilled workforce and robust R&D, the United States has one of the world’s most supportive domestic environments for the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals with minimal market barriers. Its strengths include a strong intellectual property system and robust capital markets.
The United States is the world’s largest market for medical devices, accounting for 46 percent of global sales in medical devices in 2024.
The industry is supported by a large medical device manufacturing sector, housing many of the world’s largest producers of medical devices. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the medical devices industry cluster employs more than 285,000 individuals. Arizona, California, Indiana, Minnesota, and Utah have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the medical devices industry cluster.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the U.S. medical devices industry. In 2025, the Food and Drug Administration authorized more than 250 AI-enabled medical devices in the United States, compared to six in 2015.
Technological advancements, an aging population, high prevalence of chronic diseases, and an increased demand for medical devices in emerging markets will serve as growth opportunities for the U.S. medical device industry.
Explore the impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. jobs, exports, and innovation in the life sciences industry.
The Investor Guide is a high-level view of everything from taxes to immigration and workforce to business structures.
SelectUSA has created several dashboards to help analyze key FDI data from a variety of sources.
