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Clusters of Creativity: Innovation and Growth in Montana
A Report to the Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity on
the Life Sciences Cluster (2003)

Relative to the size of its economy, Montana has a substantive, relatively diverse, and growing life sciences cluster. This is true whether one takes a strict, narrowly defined view of industry or a more expansive view that includes biomedical, hospitals, and other life sciences-oriented endeavors. It is interesting to note that the existence of this cluster in Montana runs against the grain of conventional wisdom that holds that the presence of medical schools is a necessary condition for biotech cluster development. In this case, Montana has moved forward in spite of this handicap by developing its own distinctive infrastructure that includes several medical/bioscience research institutes, hospitals with research and clinical trials capacity, and a very strong life sciences and related engineering presence and interest within its two major universities.

The report’s first section will address how to define biotechnology and life sciences – terms that often have different meanings in different contexts. Next is a quantitative description of Montana’s life sciences cluster, followed by a description of the companies and infrastructure elements that comprise the cluster. The cluster analysis concludes with a profile and assessment section. Lastly, the report summarizes key findings and offers recommendations for stimulating the growth and development of the life sciences cluster.