NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The last 12 months have proven that the biotech industry plays an important role in our economy, and it’s becoming more popular in Tennessee.

In the past two years, we’ve seen a number of technological breakthroughs and its fueling growth among a wide variety of life science companies like August Bioservices.

The company serves biopharmaceutical and biotech customers looking to outsource parts of their drug development, their research or drug manufacturing process.

They expect to expand their workforce from 65 to 240 high quality jobs here in Nashville in the next few years.

‘The leadership team is excited to be moving from other areas to come to Nashville to grow this business into a much larger economic hub for bio services,” Joe Mase, Executive Vice President of Operations at August Bioservices said.

A new JLL report titled “Life Sciences Emerging Markets Index: Poised for a paradigm shift,” ranks Nashville in the top ten fastest growing bio-tech hubs for job opportunities.

“What we’re discovering is the quality of life we’re providing for these companies is off the charts compared to where they’re coming from,” Bob Rolfe, Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development said. ‘That biotech hub space, it’s been an area we have been very intentional about recruiting companies.”

Nashville’s lifestyle, cost of living, talent pool and demographic advantage are all contributing factors to its popularity and reasons why the biotech companies are choosing to move to Middle Tennessee.

Experts believe for our market to reach its full potential, talent and momentum must combine and unite.

“Middle Tennessee has always been a hub for life science companies,” Adams said. “It’s this biotech and biopharma piece that I think is kind of the last piece in the wheel and it’s developing now and were excited to to be in the forefront of that.”

Rolfe says within the last year and a half, Nashville has welcomed around five biotech or biopharma related companies to the area with one to two more on the way. Those will be announced soon.

Biotechnology involves the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products like antibiotics and hormones.