Life Sciences

Where Life Sciences Thrive

Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, offers tremendous competitive advantages in the life science, medical devices, biotechnology, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Learn what makes the Lehigh Valley a great home for life sciences companies in this short video.

Everything You Need, All in the Right Place

Located in the heart of the Northeast’s life science supercluster, the Lehigh Valley provides proximity to top research universities, a growing workforce, and an affordable location with great quality of life.

The Lehigh Valley’s economic assets are uniquely suited to help research, diagnostics, and manufacturing firms opportunities emerging in the fast-changing life sciences commercial environment.

•
•
•
•
•
•
•





Accessibility

One-third of the U.S. population lives within a one-day drive of the Lehigh Valley. The advantages of our location for life sciences companies include:

Location and proximity to all major U.S. Northeast markets; we’re just a short trip from New York City (90 miles east) and Philadelphia (60 miles south)
Exceptional transportation infrastructure (air cargo, air passenger, highway, freight rail, major seaports)
Excellent utility infrastructure (electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, broadband)

Talent

In addition to a workforce of 1.3 million within a 60-minute commute and Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing region for the 18-to-34 age group, the Lehigh Valley offers:

High proportion of residents with degrees in engineering
Strong growth and high specialization in Healthcare & Life Sciences cluster
World-renowned Ben Franklin Technology Partners incubator for emerging tech companies
Lehigh University Center for Manufacturing Systems Engineering
World-class health care networks: Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network
- Temple University School of Medicine/St. Luke’s University Health Network
- Lehigh Valley Health Network’s independent residency program; clinical campus of University of South Florida’s College of Medicine

Good Company

The Lehigh Valley is home to a “who’s who” of life science industry leaders and boasts many life sciences success stories in recent years.

OraSure Technologies was commissioned by the federal government to help fight the spread of the Ebola virus as well as Covid-19. This company began in a business incubator in Bethlehem, where the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley allowed it to grow into a national leader in point-of-care diagnostics tests and specimen collection devices.