The number of Colorado medical device companies grew by nearly 20 percent in Colorado in the last decade, according to a new bioscience report.

Furthermore, the state showed a 16.1 percent employment growth in the medical device sector from 2001 to 2010, the nonprofit Colorado BioScience Association said Friday. The association cited data from a recent report compiled by global research and development group Battelle and the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Despite their overall growth the last decade, medical device companies declined in number by 1.3 percent from 2007 to 2010. However, employment grew 14.7 percent during the same period.

Other bright spots included the agriculture bioscience industry, whose employment grew nearly 47 percent last decade. From 2007 to 2010, employment in the sector grew 15.6 percent.

Agriculture bioscience establishments grew by 59 percent last decade and 29 percent from 2007 to 2010.

Research and testing grew almost 2 percent from 2007 to 2010 and by 66 percent last decade. Drugs and pharmaceuticals declined .5 percent last decade, though at a slower rate than the nation, which decreased 3.1 percent.

In all, employment in Colorado's bioscience industry grew 4.6 percent from 2007 to 2010 to nearly 27,000 jobs. Nationally, industry jobs declined 1.4 percent during that period.

However, the number of bioscience companies declined 2.6 percent last decade due to decreases in the pharmaceutical and bioscience distribution sectors.