For many businesses, it’s often said the key to success is location, location, location. For life sciences, the lifeblood is talent, talent, talent.
The Lehigh Valley is loaded with it.
We are close to Lehigh, Penn, Princeton, and Columbia, which U.S. News and World Report ranked among the top research universities. We have 11 colleges and universities with 52,000 students. Our five community colleges and technical schools prepare new and experienced employees with the skills for success in life sciences, often customizing programs to meet local manufacturers’ specific needs.
“There’s a tremendous talent pool in this area. We have so many colleges and universities that we have no problems getting highly-qualified individuals. The schools in this area produce excellent candidates.”
– Salvatore J. Salamone, founder and CEO of Saladax Biomedical, Bethlehem
And there’s already a foundation of world-class scientists and technical support for companies in the Lehigh Valley, which sits amid a life sciences corridor that stretches from Boston to Washington, D.C. You have access to the best talent within the Lehigh Valley, and from nearby life science hotbeds as well—all within a comfortable commuting distance.
“We really have become this medical device area with a lot of people who were young when I was young (are now) growing up, becoming experts, and now teaching other generations. We’re starting to see the children of our first employees coming on board as employees.”
– Sam Niedbala, founder and CEO of CryoConcepts, Bethlehem
The Lehigh Valley is also home to the renowned Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania, which provides support and incubator space to emerging technology companies. Ben Franklin has launched a Life Sciences Technology Network that brings together its clients and alumni, local hospital networks and other healthcare organizations, college and university resources, and economic development colleagues including LVEDC accelerate the growth of the life sciences sector.
What’s more, the region boasts two world-class health care systems, St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network, the Lehigh Valley’s largest employers. St. Luke’s is the 2021 #1 ranked teaching hospital in the country and offers graduate medical education through the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine. LVHN hosts three clinical institutes including Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute, a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance.
