Health Sciences
The Greater New Orleans region is not only a robust health services provider and employer, but also a thriving hub of biosciences research. Home to a booming BioDistrict in downtown New Orleans, multiple colleges and universities with strong biotech-related programs, and unique, cutting-edge research facilities, the region offers a favorable and supportive environment for scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs alike.
A growing network of top-notch hospitals, trauma centers, and clinics serve the Greater New Orleans population, and both the volume and caliber of healthcare professionals and groundbreaking research in the area continue to climb.
New Orleans is home to LSU School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine, Ochsner Health System (ranked the #1 hospital in Louisiana eight years in a row), and the Biosciences Economic Development District (BioDistrict), which provides the region with world-class biosciences research and development, healthcare delivery, and high-paying jobs. The BioDistrict—which includes the Veterans Administration Hospital, the new University Medical Center, the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center—is creating an economic impact of $3.3 billion and has created 34,000 new jobs in the region.
Facts & Figures
The Case for Doing Business
Regional Assets for the Health Sciences Industry
- Downtown Medical District: At the center of the region’s growing BioSciences and Healthcare industry is a 1500-acre area in the heart of New Orleans’ Downtown, where leading medical schools, universities, hospitals, and research institutions work to advance bioscience knowledge and where more than $2.3 billion has been invested in new hospital and medical research construction.
- State-of-the-Art Research Facilities: The Greater New Orleans region is home to some of the nation’s leading research in the areas of cancer, gene therapy, neurosciences, biostatistics, and tropical medicine. This research is conducted at and bolstered by institutions including Tulane and LSU Medical schools and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.
- New Orleans BioInnovation Center: This 66,000 square-foot incubator is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and supporting Louisiana innovators as they develop life-saving new technologies. The Center offers wet-lab, office, and conference space, along with commercialization assistance and financing to help their program teams bring new diagnostics, treatments, or technologies to market.
- Tulane National Primate Research Center: A hub for the study of infectious disease, the Greater New Orleans region is home to one of seven primate centers nationwide located in St. Tammany parish. The Tulane Primate Center is often referred to as a “premier facility,” which is funded by the National Institutes of Health and researches the development of vaccines, treatment options, and discovery of diagnostics tools for infectious diseases included: AIDS, Lyme disease, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Regional Incentives
Incentives to Support Growth
- Louisiana Quality Jobs Program: Provides a cash rebate to companies that create well-paid jobs and promote economic development, including up to a 6% rebate of annual gross payroll for new direct jobs for up to 10 years and a state sales/use rebate on capital expenditures.
- LED FastStart: Recognized as the nation’s best state workforce training program, LED FastStart provides customized employee recruitment, screening, and training to new and expanding companies at no cost.
Notable Employers
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