Life Sciences Competitiveness Taskforce

The Oregon Life Sciences Competitiveness Task Force is a statewide initiative convened by Oregon Life Sciences and the Oregon Business Council to help define how Oregon can compete and win in the life sciences industry. Bringing together leaders from industry, higher education, economic development, and government, the Task Force is developing focused recommendations to strengthen workforce, innovation, manufacturing, and business competitiveness. Its work will help inform strategic priorities and policy recommendations leading into Oregon’s 2027 legislative session.

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Read the Press Release

The Oregon Life Sciences Competitiveness Task Force brings together more than 30 leaders from industry, higher education, economic development, and government to develop a focused strategy for growing Oregon’s life sciences sector.

• Timeline: April–November 2026
• Goal: Inform recommendations for Oregon’s 2027 legislative session
• Focus Areas: Workforce, innovation, manufacturing, business competitiveness, infrastructure, and investment

Oregon Life Sciences and the Oregon Business Council are conducting two confidential industry surveys to help inform Task Force recommendations around workforce, competitiveness, growth, and investment priorities.

Companies are encouraged to participate in both surveys, with responses from the individuals best positioned to provide input in each area.

Workforce Survey

For HR, recruiting, workforce development, manufacturing, and operational leaders.

Business & Competitiveness Survey

For executive leadership, operations, finance, strategy, government affairs, and business development teams.

Why This Matters

Oregon has nationally significant life sciences assets, world-class research institutions, and growing industry momentum. Yet the state remains under-concentrated relative to leading life sciences markets and captures a smaller share of industry growth, investment, and commercialization activity than peer regions.

The Task Force is focused on identifying where Oregon can compete most effectively, what barriers are limiting growth, and what practical actions could strengthen the state’s position as a destination for life sciences innovation, manufacturing, and investment.

The industry already supports high-wage jobs across research, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology and has the potential to become a larger driver of statewide economic growth.

What the Task Force Is Focused On

The Task Force is developing recommendations across several strategic areas:

• Strengthening workforce and talent pipelines
• Advancing innovation and commercialization
• Supporting business growth and manufacturing expansion
• Improving infrastructure and site readiness
• Identifying policy and investment priorities
• Increasing Oregon’s national competitiveness and visibility

The work is designed to move from strategy to implementation and help establish a coordinated statewide approach to industry growth.

Oregon’s Competitive Advantages

Oregon enters this effort with a differentiated foundation that includes:

• Research leadership and nationally recognized institutions
• The University of Oregon Knight Campus and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
• A growing concentration of biomanufacturing capabilities
• Emerging strengths in therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health, and industrial biotechnology
• A collaborative ecosystem connecting industry, universities, entrepreneurs, and economic development partners
• Global companies operating major facilities in Oregon, alongside a growing startup ecosystem

April 2026

• Task Force kickoff meeting launched in Portland

May–September 2026

• Working groups and stakeholder engagement
• Industry surveys conducted statewide
• Development of strategic recommendations across workforce, competitiveness, innovation, manufacturing, and infrastructure

August–October 2026

• Refinement and prioritization of recommendations
• Coordination with industry, economic development, higher education, and public sector stakeholders

November 2026

• Final recommendations released

2027

• Recommendations help inform strategic policy and legislative discussions

Leadership

Task Force Co-Chairs

• Representative Hai Pham, Oregon State Legislature
• Senator Ron Wyden, United States Senate
• Tim Layton, Genentech

Task Force Coordination

Liisa Bozinovic, Oregon Life Sciences
Andrew Desmond, Oregon Business Council

Additional Information

For additional information about the Oregon Life Sciences Competitiveness Task Force, please contact Oregon Life Sciences.