ALL EYES ON UTAH: HEALTH CARE INNOVATION IS UTAH'S NEXT GREAT ECONOMY.

• Author: Haque, Chandana

During the pandemic, Utahns watched in real time the power of innovation and technology to address disease and system deficiencies. MRNA vaccines, which were never deployed for such broad use before, paved the way to global recovery. Telemedicine adoption skyrocketed as hospitals and clinics saw as many as 175 times the number of patients virtually. It was in this pressurized environment that we launched Altitude Lab, a startup incubator developing a new, diverse generation of healthcare startups in Utah.

Companies working in health care innovation are developing new medicines, diagnostics, and services to improve patients' access and quality of care. In Utah, this industry accounts for $13B in GDP. At Altitude Lab, our startups are deploying novel technology to do everything from understanding and treating cancer effectively to eliminating post-surgery dependency on opioids. The pandemic produced tailwinds for our industry and revealed Utah's potential as a leader in this rapidly evolving sector.

In 2021, Salt Lake City ranked in the top three emerging markets attracting venture capital. When stacked against competing regions Portland ($196M) and Dallas ($310M), Salt Lake City attracted an astounding $295M despite having the group's smallest population. But Utah has hit above its weight class for years now. Since 2012, research jobs have grown by 74% in Salt Lake City, outranking metros like Raleigh, Houston, and Pittsburgh (66%, 44%, and 33% respectively). Utah's health care innovation sector is now the 13th largest in the country with the highest concentration of jobs.

While the industry's growth might be surprising to Utahns, coastal venture capitalists have noticed-in the last ten years, Utah has attracted over $2.3B in funding. In 2021, Utah's health care technology seed-stage startups set a record for funding with $79M dollars raised, 70% of which funded Altitude Lab's based startups. These macros have encouraged community leaders to double their support for the growing sector.

In February...