A report from the industry group MassBio found more than 106,000 people worked at drug companies and life science research institutions in 2021 — 13% more than the previous year. The industry continued to add jobs in research, development and manufacturing, even as some companies have laid off workers.MassBio chief executive Joe Boncore said the biotech cluster — buoyed by hundreds of millions of dollars in state investment — is now mature enough to withstand ups and downs.
The biggest biotech and pharmaceutical employers in the state include Takeda, Sanofi, Pfizer, Novartis, Vertex, Biogen and Moderna. “Due to the record amounts of venture capital money and general investment money in this industry, this industry has been able to do a lot more,” Boncore said.