BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
| Return to Article:
|
Life sciences and medical devices are a focus cluster for the Snohomish County Economic Development Council in the state of Washington. The device industry in the region is concentrated in ultrasound and other imaging technologies, as well as drug-delivery systems. Incentive programs that apply to device companies include the following.
- Credit against the state business and occupation tax for high-technology research and development (R&D) expenditures.
- Credit against the state business and occupation tax for training costs associated with new job creation.
- Deferral or waiver of the sales and use tax for high-technology R&D facilities.
- Deferral or waiver of the sales and use tax for biotech and medical device manufacturing facilities.
The region is home to the University of Washington. The university's school of medicine ranks first among public medical schools and second among all medical schools in federal research funding. The medical school and the university's college of engineering jointly operate the department of bioengineering, which offers coursework in medical devices.
Edmonds Community College is a member of the Medical Device Industry Education Consortium, a National Science Foundation program that is developing industry-endorsed education solutions for specific needs in regulatory affairs, quality and documentation, and product development. Coursework currently offered at other regional schools includes a certificate program in medical devices, plus individual classes in regulatory affairs and biomedical equipment technology. Additionally, the community colleges offer company-specific training programs for current and new hires. Fifty percent of the funding comes from public dollars.
Established device companies in the community include Philips Medical Systems, Siemens Medical Solutions, Cardiac Science Corp., Boston Scientific Corp., and SonoSite Inc.
