The perfect formula: life sciences industry flourishing in Utah.

• Author: Stewart, Heather
• Position: Techknowledge

Utah's life sciences industry, one of the strongest sectors in the state's economy, flourished throughout the recession, undaunted by the hard times that plagued almost every other industry.

The life sciences industry has two important areas of emphasis: medical devices and genetics. With companies like Merit Medical and Edwards Lifesciences, "Utah is the Silicon Valley of medical devices," says Michael Paul, CEO of LineaGen, a company that provides a genetic test to help pediatricians diagnose autism.

The wealth of genetic-focused innovation in Utah is equally impressive. The genetics sector is fueled by a set of elements unique to the Beehive State.

Large Families

In the 1980s, a group of scientists convened at Alta Ski Resort for a symposium on genetic mutations and nuclear fallout. The initial idea for the Human Genome Project was born at that symposium, says Paul, and the scientists could not have found themselves in a better spot.

As Paul explains, the project needed a control group of families without a history of genetic diseases. The researchers recruited 47 families in Utah that each had four living grandparents, two parents and eight children. Where else could you find so many large families, says Paul. "Either you're going to go to Bangladesh, India, or come to Salt Lake City, Utah:'

Those 47 families contributed their DNA to form the control basis of the Human Genome Project. "Not only is that a huge scientific contribution, it is a huge communitarian contribution:' he says. "Utah may have one of the most cooperative clinical and genetic research populaces:'

According to Paul, 80 percent of Utahns contacted for a clinical or genetic research study agree to participate, which is much higher than the national average. "More genes that cause disease have been found in Utah than in any single place worldwide," he says.

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Ancestral Records

Utah's unusually large families also tend to have unusually detailed family histories. From these records, the state began developing the Utah Population Database in 1980. Teams from the University of Utah went to the Family History Library and hand entered records from individuals who could trace their family genealogy back to the pioneer trail--essentially the founders of the state's current population.

"At the time, that could have been the largest database ever created--it was about 180,000 families, about 1 million records," says Paul. The state contributed demographic...