How a new BioSTL-led strategy will position our region for global leadership in health and agriculture.
Q: Why is BioSTL leading a new strategic plan for the region’s bioscience economy now?
Donn Rubin:
It’s been nearly 25 years since St. Louis developed its first comprehensive bioscience strategy—what many remember as the “Battelle study.” That plan laid the groundwork for BioSTL’s founding in 2001, and our job was to bring it to life. Looking back, we’ve not only checked every box—it’s fair to say we’ve far exceeded those early expectations.
But the world has changed dramatically since then. So has St. Louis. We’ve grown more sophisticated in how we understand and build an innovation economy. That’s why, for the first time in a generation, we’re leading a new, forward-looking strategy for the region—one that reflects where we are today, and where we want to go.
Q: What’s the goal of this new strategy?
It will be a roadmap, building on the proven foundation of the past 25 years, not just for BioSTL but for the entire region. We’re acting as the steward of the process, but we want public and private sector partners across St. Louis to embrace and help shape it. The responsibility to actualize it will fall to all of us.
The goal is to align three things:
- St. Louis’ current and emerging strengths,
- national and global bioscience trends, and
- the big problems that need solving—especially those where our region can play an indispensable role.
From there, we’ll define where we should focus investment, where we can lead, and what our aspirations should be. What do we want St. Louis to be known for a decade from now? What lists do we want to be at the top of?
Q: Who’s involved in developing this strategy?
We’ve brought in national consultants with deep experience in bioscience strategy. But more importantly, we’re engaging a broad cross-section of partners: corporate leaders, research institutions, university partners, investors, workforce developers, and funders.
Q: Can you share examples of where you already see strong potential?
There are clear areas where St. Louis is already a leader—and we expect those to play a central role in the plan. Agtech is one. Our plant science and agriculture ecosystem is world-class. Another is neuroscience and the broader “omics” fields like genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. St. Louis helped lead the mapping of the human genome 25 years ago, and we remain at the forefront of those technologies.
But we’re not predefining the outcome. The process is designed to surface emerging opportunities we might not yet be aware of—because that’s how we ensure we’re investing in the future, not just the present.
Q: Why is this important for St. Louis now?
Since that original Battelle study, bioscience jobs in St. Louis have grown more than 53%. That’s remarkable, especially when you consider that the broader regional economy has been mostly stagnant. Bioscience has been an engine of growth—and we believe it can be an even greater engine of shared prosperity and leadership relevance for St. Louis in the decades ahead.
This strategy is about making smart decisions: where to allocate resources, how to tell our story, and how to ensure that St. Louis remains—not just a player—but a driving force in solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges in human health and agriculture.