55,000 Employees at 450 Bioscience Companies
North Carolina is the third leading state in the nation for biotechnology with 450 companies. With their estimated $3.5 billion payroll, and more than 55,000 employees, they provide and average worker's salary of $70,000. That workforce has experienced 18 percent growth since 2006. Learn about North Carolina's statewide programs for biotechnology workforce development.
Scientific and Business Networking Groups, Plus Annual Biotech Conference
To date, seven Intellectual Exchange Groups meet regularly to discuss research in a particular realm of biotechnology. The best minds from industry and academia to come up with new ideas and form partnerships every time they meet. The monthly Biotech Forum puts business development professionals from across the state together to learn from each other. Regional Exchange Groups provide regular opportunities for both scientific and business networking in specific regions across the state.
To encourage the creation of similar meetings, any North Carolina-based organization, group, agency, or institution is eligible to apply for a grant to defray costs of biotechnology-related meetings. Now in it's 17th year, the annual Biotech Conference unites the Southeast's life science community.
NC Research Campus, Bent Creek Institute, Biofuels Center and More
The NC Research Campus fosters regional growth in biotechnology in Cabarrus County and Charlotte areas, while further west in Appalachia, the Bent Creek Institute provides a program very topically focused on using native plants to improve human health. Though many states are aggressively pursuing biofuels development, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina is believed to be the first to establish both a central targeted agency and a central campus for support and activities.
Centers of Innovation Unite Academia, Business, and Community to Develop Sectors
Emerging Centers of Innovation in North Carolina will promote the creation of a pipeline of technology from universities to industry. Each COI will focus on the identification, development, and commercialization of research within a specific biotechnology-dependent industry. These Centers are intended to catalyze the state's efforts in the research and commercialization of the strategically selected biotechnology-dependent industries for the benefit of the entire state.