Industry Snapshot

Economy/Cost of Living | Education
Recreation & Entertainment | Transportation | Geography & Climate
History | Suggested Reading List

Montana is home to an emergent life science industry, supported by modern research institutions and a progressive higher educational system. Companies such as Androscore, Montana Biotech, Corixa Montana, Nurture, Inc. and Western Plant Breeders are successfully engaged in biotechnology, medical device manufacturing, pharmaceutical and agricultural research and development.

Prominent non-profit research centers, including the McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, the Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a division of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation, are an important component of Montana’s life science industry.

The Montana Biotechnology Center at the University of Montana, Missoula, coordinates research and development in the biosciences within the Montana University System and facilitates technology transfer to both private and public research institutions. The center works with the university’s Division of Biological Sciences, the School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, the Department of Chemistry and the School of Forestry to provide a broad biotechnology curriculum.

Montana State University offers an interdisciplinary B.S. in Biotechnology and is home to several innovative laboratories, including the Image and Chemical Analysis Laboratory. The university has also created many programs to expand its research and development capabilities, such as the EPSCoR Plant Biotechnology Group. The Research & Development Institute promotes both research and technology transfer activities. The Montana Network for Biomedical Research Opportunities seeks to expand research specifically in this biotechnology field. In conjunction with federal agencies, the university hosts TechLink, a unique service which facilitates research partnerships between federal laboratories and regional companies. Montana State University also encompasses a 90-acre Advanced Technology Park.

Montana’s higher educational system includes numerous technology schools, such as the Great Falls College of Technology, which offers a Bioscience Technology program, and the Missoula College of Technology, which offers curricula in Medical Laboratory Technology.

Private universities and colleges, such as Carroll College and the University of Great Falls, also offer bioscience curricula.

Obstacles currently facing the bioscience industry in Montana include insufficient laboratory space and a lack of substantial private investment. Nonetheless, with a well-trained work force and an expanding economy, Montana is prepared for significant industry development.

Back to Destination Montana