NH State of the Life Sciences
Come for the Mountains, Stay for the Momentum
Rugged mountains, pristine lakes, vast forests and an Atlantic shoreline have long been iconic images of New Hampshire.
Today, those symbols could be joined by gleaming labs, state-of-the-art manufacturing lines and researchers wearing white coats and safety goggles. The rapid growth of life sciences businesses is launching the state into the future, enhancing other industries and drawing attention on a global scale.
WHAT IS NH LIFE SCIENCES?
Established in 2023, NH Life Sciences (NHLS) is a statewide association for the life science industry with a mission to foster growth and awareness for the sector, while helping its members attract world-class talent and investment. While the state has had some industry groups for sub-sectors, there hasn’t been an organization that linked businesses working in biotech, pharmacology, medical devices, and related fields.
Even though some of these businesses that fall into the life sciences category have been around for decades, the field hadn’t been brought together as a cohort until now. An industry group allows these companies to grow more efficiently by creating a unified voice to tackle barriers and leverage collective attention to better attract workers and acquire materials.
“NHLS was formed to connect and convene the industry to facilitate its broader advancement across the state,” said Andrea Hechavarria, president and CEO of NH Life Sciences. “As a newly formed association, our members have the unique ability to help guide the direction of New Hampshire’s life sciences growth.” Every day, NHLS works to connect, convene, and facilitate the advancement of the life sciences industry in the Granite State through member programs and events, policy advocacy, industry intelligence, and education.
A New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs report in 2023 spurred leaders into action to form the association. At that point, about 600 New Hampshire life sciences companies had a workforce of about 11,290 people. Life sciences businesses were responsible for $4.8 billion in sales and contributed $2.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The industry has continued to grow in the years since.
BIO, the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy association, released a report this past December noting, “with rapid employment growth of 27.9 percent since 2019, New Hampshire’s bioscience industry has grown significantly faster than the nation.”
From companies making discoveries like a novel treatment for metastasized cancers in the brain and medications that maintain chronic illnesses to manufacturers creating labware, bandages and more, New Hampshire has provided the right conditions to fuel innovation and expansion.
THE RIGHT CONDITIONS FOR A LIFE SCIENCE CLUSTER
Life sciences in New Hampshire has gone from a handful of unaffiliated companies to a priority sector for the state. Clusters of companies have grown around regions with access to higher education institutions and major health systems.
“Over the last 30 years or more, it's been quite an evolution,” said Mike Ambrogi, senior technology fellow at Novocure and a former general manager for DEKA R&D. “At the time I joined DEKA, we had 20 people or something like that. Now, Dean (Kamen) has 1,000 people between ARMI and DEKA. Now it's quite a large organization.”
Novocure, an oncology device company based in Portsmouth, is among the NHLS members part of a cluster that’s formed on the Seacoast. Lonza, Pirouette Pharma, OVIK Health are other members working on health care innovations. UNH Durham is nearby where nursing, engineering, biomedical science and other science fields are among the most popular degrees.
Other clusters include the Interstate-93 corridor between Manchester and Nashua, which was recognized as one of 30 Tech Hubs by the Biden Administration. The ReGen Valley is led by the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). Its headquarters in the Manchester Millyard are close to NHLS members UNH Manchester and Elliot Hospital. Within that corridor are NHLS member companies like KeySpin Manufacturing, Sequence Biotech, Foxx Life Sciences, BA Sciences, Resonectics, 3X Genetics, DECCO, and SkyTerra.
Millipore Sigma has been supplying tools and techniques to advance life sciences globally from its Monadnock area plant. Nearby manufacturers include Moore Nanotechnology Systems, Lehnen Industrial Services and Bensonwood, plus educational institutions like Keene State College and Franklin Pierce University support the cluster.
In the Upper Valley, proximity to Dartmouth Health and Dartmouth College fuel labs working on innovative medical advances by members like Novo Nordisk, BioMT and Caldera Medical.
Steven Kelly is CEO of Timberline Construction, Timberline Communications and Tenney Mountain Resort, three companies that all play a role in the life sciences in New Hampshire.
At first glance, one might not understand how a construction company, an IT company and an old ski mountain play into life sciences, but Kelly sees it as a foundation for creating another cluster in Plymouth.
“The bigger picture of that master plan isn't around just the skiing, it's building the amenities around the skiing,” Kelly said. “It's really focused on job creation and housing. And the job creation is going to include a heavy concentration in the science and tech -- life science industries.”
Plymouth has some of the same features as other NH clusters, like access to Plymouth State University, a hospital and a small airport.
“There's a lot of infrastructure there that allows Plymouth to be ready for this type of growth,” Kelly said. “Then, Tenney Mountain will be able to facilitate the location of a future science and tech park, which will then help attract some of the top companies and people in the world, because it's on a campus that's very rich in amenities, with the skiing, mountain biking, hiking, ziplining.”
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANTAGE
Boston-Cambridge proximity fueled early growth, but New Hampshire’s business-friendly policies and space for growth have solidified its position as a distinctive option.
“We know that corridor is expanding outside of Cambridge within the life sciences,” Hechavarria said. “Right across the border, we can make it really easy and accessible for a company that is in Massachusetts and is thinking about expanding to New Hampshire, so that they know the industry is unified here and there’s growing interest.”
Thomas Taylor founded Foxx Life Sciences in 2008 out of his home in southern New Hampshire.
“I have traveled to 98 countries and 49 states, New Hampshire is still my favorite place in the world,” Taylor said. “Lakes, mountains, ocean, no sales tax, Boston nearby and quality of life.”
That decision seems to have been a good one for Foxx, which has grown 40% per year for 12 of the past 15 years. The company played a key role in helping the state with COVID test kits and supplying vaccine manufacturers with the materials they needed to scale.
“New Hampshire’s location to higher education, talented people, its business-friendly environment, and excellent quality of life, make it an ideal location for any life science business,” Taylor said.
New Hampshire’s state government has long tried to create a business-friendly environment. The top corporate tax rate is 7.5%. The state was ranked #6 in the Tax Foundation’s 2025 Tax Competitiveness Index of all U.S. states.
“New Hampshire is very business-friendly and has been by nature,” Kelly said. “It’s not something that businesses think will cycle back and forth depending on who's in charge.”
Another advantage the state has over places like Cambridge is open land for new facilities. Renovating existing spaces into R&D laboratories can be cost-prohibitive compared to building a new facility from the ground up.
“I have a very positive outlook on what New Hampshire can become, not just a community that's on the outskirts of Boston, but rather an end destination unto itself,” Ambrogi said. “I think that we'll be able to differentiate ourselves quite well in the next five years.”
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME
Part of NHLS’s work growing the life sciences industry is advocating for policies that will help its member businesses grow. Among the most pressing issues that life science executives identified were workforce recruitment and start-up funding.
Workers are attracted to New Hampshire’s recreational opportunities, positive company cultures and competitive wages (they have the top industry average salary in the state at $130,850). However, housing availability is a problem for those looking to relocate. Meanwhile, a majority of the young people who leave the state to attend college don’t return. A limited venture capital pool in the state can also make it challenging for post-grads to get R&D incubators launched and running.
Housing
Life sciences has not been immune to a major challenge facing industries across the state. A shortage of affordable and workforce housing slows the recruiting of employees. Companies haven’t been able to grow as quickly as they would like because workers can’t find housing to live here.
Single-family home sales have dropped 40% since 2020, while median prices have risen 40%, per the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.
Things are similar for workers looking to rent. New Hampshire’s vacancy rate is lower than what is typically considered “healthy” for a community.
“It’s a big issue, especially with us here in Portsmouth. We recruit people here, and we have this nice building right downtown. They can't live in Portsmouth. Most of our employees can't afford it,” Ambrogi said. “We've been trying to be active, as active as we in the affordable housing area. I think it's important for companies to show up and voice these concerns so that legislators will understand the importance of that.”
Education
Just by looking at the clusters of where life science excels in New Hampshire, it is apparent that connection to academic institutions helps propel research and provide a flow of educated workers.
“You look at where is the opportunity for life sciences to grow, and it stems from having a good academic system,” Kelly said.
Continued investment in the training of students in science and manufacturing fields is still needed.
While New Hampshire has several successful private and state colleges, its support for higher education trails every other state in the country. New Hampshire ranks last for state support per student, spending just $3,699 per full-time student.
“Is that a state that's really going to support a sophisticated industry like life science? I'm not sure,” Ambrogi questioned. “We'd like to see more funding coming from Concord for that. Maybe they decide there are industry-specific training programs that we can apply for? I do think the state should be looking at how they can fund education, to fund the growth of these industries that are supporting the state.”
The high cost of attending even the public university sends students seeking options outside of the Granite State. They often don’t return to their home state.
“About 60% of college-aged students are leaving the state of New Hampshire and going to school outside of the state,” Kelly said. “You're talking about a real loss of a big demographic that would be contributing to the tax basis in the state, putting money back into the state, and helping the state grow.”
Students are also seeking educational opportunities close to where they see career opportunities. Highlighting the available careers that are in New Hampshire could help keep future workers from leaving.
Understanding all the different paths in life sciences can retain young people. While lab jobs are a component of the industry, there are also support roles, manufacturing, marketing and patient care careers.
“It's important for these students to understand what these career paths are,” Ambrogi said. “I think that's important for people to understand the diversity of roles that there are within the life science industry, not just the lab coats.”
Investment
For companies developing new pharmaceuticals or medical technologies, they often don’t start making money on those items until after receiving FDA approval and going to market. This could mean years without turning a profit.
Research grants, expanding the R&D tax credit and growing venture capital in New Hampshire are some ways to support labs that need funding to turn their ideas into discoveries.
“I think there is an opportunity to bring a little more visibility to the innovation side of what's going on in New Hampshire,” Ambrogi said. “There's not a strong venture capital presence in New Hampshire for life science. It's very strong in the Boston area. North of the border, there are smaller angel investing groups, but the resources they have are limited, so I'd love to see something more along the lines of a larger venture capital ecosystem.”
A TEAM APPROACH TO INDUSTRY GROWTH
For all these challenges, having an association like NHLS gives companies a voice at the State House and a coordinator to arrange collaborative partnerships.
Kelly sees public-private partnerships as key to addressing these complex barriers.
“State leaders need to understand the importance of listening to the private sector who are trying to future-proof their businesses,” Kelly said. “It doesn't matter who the government and the legislators are. It's not one thing that can be done. It's 1,000 little things that can be done with us all working together over time.”
Already this year, NHLS has been a voice in the Legislature promoting a bill that would increase the R&D tax credit so that New Hampshire companies can be more competitive.
“By bringing these companies all together, we're going to have a combined voice that can start to influence how things are done at the state level,” Kelly said.
By simply working to promote the industry as a whole, NHLS is showing that there is a culture in the Granite State that supports and grows life sciences, which can attract greater expansion.
“We really want New Hampshire to be recognized as a place for life science development,” Ambrogi said. “The trade association is important for supporting the industry and promoting the industry, because I do think that with that attention, that ecosystem will grow, and we’ll have an easier opportunity to recruit.”
Networking events are planned to bring together industry leaders, who can find new ways to support each other, creating an environment for collaboration and not competition.
“I think also there's an opportunity just to connect the companies, to be able to network with like-minded professionals who are in your industry,” Ambrogi said. “I think that brings a lot of value to the member companies.”
NHLS members also get access to MassBio’s Edge program, which enhances purchasing power for supplies leading to savings. Members say this one benefit has effectively paid for their membership in the association.
It is critical for the state, even outside the life sciences, to pay attention. The industry’s growth will have ripple effects that extend across sectors and state government.
“As you bring these top companies in that demand and need good talent, everything around this starts to grow. It affects the entire hospitality industry. It affects restaurants. It affects your tourism, because the more people that come, they're going to travel, they're going to go the lakes, they're going to the mountains, they're going to ski,” Kelly said. “The more we focus on job creation and the attraction and retention of people living in the state, all of those other sectors will also thrive because the collective tax revenue will grow, which then becomes less of a deficit situation for the state.”
Companies interested in helping advance the collective efforts of life sciences can find more membership information online.