Brochures, Maps, Biotechnology.. Oh My!

We are all about jobs! We are committed to growing our life sciences industry and bringing more jobs to the Triangle. More than 57,000 people are employed by life sciences companies in North Carolina, with an average wage of close to $75,000 a year. Despite the recession, the life sciences industry in North Carolina was the only sector to see job growth. North Carolina has the third largest biotechnology cluster in the nation behind only Massachusetts and California and a majority of the 525 life sciences companies in the state of North Carolina are located in the Triangle.

WCED released new life sciences collateral to showcase the resources and strength of the life sciences industry in the Triangle. Our new collateral categorizes, classifies, and maps close to 500 life sciences companies. We want to promote the concentration of these companies and the resources available to our existing industry companies and life sciences companies interested in opening or moving their facilities. We also want to attract talent by letting people know that the Triangle offers great opportunity for them to find a job, and if they lose that job there are other opportunities within the industry.

What I found so compelling in putting together this piece was the strength and concentration of companies and resources. The Triangle is home to the greatest concentration of contract research organizations (CRO) and testing companies including the world’s largest Quintiles, ICON, PPD, PRA International, and INC Research.  Four of the world's largest agricultural chemical companies have major operations in the Triangle, including BASF, Bayer CropScience, Monsanto, and Syngenta. Representing the vaccine market, Novartis, Diosynth Biotechnology, Merck,GlaxoSmithKline, and Medicago all have operating facilities in the Triangle.

We have three tier 1 universities that all have unique strengths but partner together to build upon the strengths of one another. We are home to the world’s largest bio-manufacturing training and education center, occupying 82,500 square feet at NC State University with facilities and staff matching those that you would find at the world’s leading bio-manufacturing companies. And with those three universities, along with a number of smaller colleges and universities, comes talent. Those people who are here because they love living here.

This collateral is just the beginning of this story and we look forward to the next chapter.