The Wilmington region has all the ingredients necessary for continued economic development successes and growth in the biotechnology/life sciences industry sector.
 

THE INGREDIENTS

1) Industry Partners and Jobs – With the long-standing local strengths in the clinical research and contract manufacturing industries, as well as recent investment announcements of over $1billion by Frontier Scientific Solutions in cold chain storage capacity here, the region is well-positioned for continued economic development successes in biotechnology.

The NC Biotechnology Center Southeastern Office’s biannual Clinical Research and Life Sciences Industry in Southeastern North Carolina 2024 report found employment in the life sciences sector continues to expand here, with over 5,600 life sciences-related employees living and working in the region.

On average, these jobs earn $113,838 per year, and we expect these opportunities to grow regionwide.

2) Talent Pipeline – To achieve this potential growth, the availability of a regional workforce who can access local jobs with transformational salaries through short-term certification training programs is paramount.

Many people think of biotechnology jobs as Ph.D.-level positions in a research lab. While those roles are essential to the biotech industry, equally important are the jobs requiring minimal certification beyond high school or an associate’s degree, such as biomanufacturing roles.

With our NC Biotech Southeastern North Carolina Workforce Strategy, we are strengthening our talent pipeline at all job levels by supporting efforts to reach students at a young age to spark their interest in biotech careers, helping exiting military personnel transition to biomanufacturing jobs, implementing the BioWork short-term certification program at local community colleges and spreading the word about the broad spectrum of biotech career pathways through our Accelerate NC Ambassador Program.

3) Educational Assets – While degree programs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington  continue to prepare professionals for careers at local biotech companies, the community colleges here and across the state are increasingly more vital workforce development drivers for the life sciences sector.  Just look at the new Propel NC funding model for the state’s community colleges, which prioritizes investment in programs tied to workforce demand and high-wage jobs in high-growth industries in the state, such as biotechnology.

Similarly, the Boost Program, funded by a recent $35 million grant from Texas-based Arnold Ventures through the partnership among the N.C. Community Colleges System, State Board and Foundation, is designed to help achieve the state’s economic development and workforce development goals “by accelerating student advancement through community college into high-wage, in-demand careers.”

The program focuses on training North Carolinians to excel in careers that are essential to our state’s economic development success, including biotechnology, by breaking down barriers students often face in completing their education. Initial Boost participants include Cape Fear Community College.

4) Innovation Focus, Commercialization Drivers and Entrepreneurial Mindset – Wilmington is home to an impressive collection of entrepreneurial support organizations and initiatives to drive new venture creation here. In 2020, the NC Biotech Southeastern Office launched the biannual NC BIOTECH Venture Challenge in Wilmington with key partners at UNCW to focus attention and funding on early-stage biotech startups.

Local participating ventures include Isosceles Pharmaceuticals, Nuream, Boreas, Predicate, Duravax, Accugenomics, Electronic Lab Logs and OpiAID.

The contributions by UNCW to building our entrepreneurial community are immeasurable. With the leadership and innovative programs of the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, we are seeing a greater focus than ever on moving ideas from the minds of local life sciences innovators and university researchers to the marketplace.
 
These biotechnologies are not limited to the pharma-related products many of us think comprise life sciences but also include innovations in marine biotechnology, aquaculture, energy generation and agriculture.

5) Funding Sources – Without adequate financial resources, these economic development wins would not be possible. The NC Biotechnology Center’s grant and loan programs and other entrepreneurial resources play a key role in supporting innovation, commercialization, entrepreneurship and company growth.

Another statewide resource with local representation, NC Innovation, recently made a significant grant award to UNCW and Dr. Ying Wang for his groundbreaking work on a universal, longer-lasting flu vaccine, which was also part of last year’s NC BIOTECH Venture Challenge pre-venture track.

Equity capital and governmental research funding are also critical ingredients for biotechnology commercialization and venture creation, as is the philanthropic generosity of local leaders.

The recent announcement of a $25 million gift to UNCW by Linda and Yousry Sayed, focused on supporting a wide range of health care professional workforce programs and research initiatives, will have a long-term, transformational impact on the university and the region.

If you have an appetite for life sciences economic development in Southeastern North Carolina, you’ll love the feast we’re cooking up and the table we’re setting for future biotechnology successes across the region.

Randall Johnson leads the NC Biotechnology Center Southeastern Office, serves as treasurer for the N.C. Community Colleges Foundation and is a past president of the N.C. Economic Development Association.