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North Carolina leads the pack

A recent survey by Site Selection magazine showed North Carolina attracted 99 new or expanded pharmaceutical and biotech facilities in the past decade -- well ahead of runners-up California, which had 67 facilities, and New York, which had 46.

To take just one example, BASF Plant Science, a biotechnology research arm of the giant German chemical corporation BASF, announced in 1999 that it would establish a major research center at Research Triangle Park with a staff of 150 research scientists and technicians. "The new research center will extend the rapidly growing BASF system of globally integrated scientific research and product development to include the design of agronomic plants to enhance their qualities, quantities and production efficiency," says Dr. Friedrich Vogel, head of the BASF Crop Protection Division.

Much of the new investment has been located in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area that surrounds Research Triangle Park, a 7,000-acre (2,800-ha.) R&D park located near three major research universities: Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina.

The list of pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the Research Triangle Park area reads like a who's who of the industry: Aventis CropScience, BASF, Bayer, Biogen, BioTraces, Covance Biotechnology Services, Eisai, Endocrinology, Link Technology,

McMahan Research Laboratories, Novartis, Paradigm Genetics, Sphinx, Worldwide Clinical Trials, and Xanthon. Together with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and Agribusiness Biotechnology Research, these firms employ more than 2,125 workers.

"Their number one reason for choosing us is access to the research universities in the area,"says Jamie Nunnelly, director of communications, Research Triangle Park. "The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University have outstanding medical schools. Many companies like to form relationships with our graduate schools and students and conduct clinical trials with the universities."

Other Southeastern states are also attracting pharmaceutical and biotech investment. Virginia has more than 370 bioscience companies employing more than 21,000 people, and ranks second in the Southeast in R&D spending, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced in March 2000 it will expand its manufacturing facility for "active pharmaceutical ingredients" in Petersburg, Va., creating 104 new jobs in the first phase of the expansion. The company will receive grant funds and work force training services. "We remain aggressive in marketing the commonwealth to pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers," said Barry E. DuVal, Virginia's secretary of commerce and trade.

In Virginia's Roanoke Valley, a biotech industry has grown up around Virginia Tech in nearby Blacksburg, where "Genie" the world's first transgenic pig, was born in 1999. Recently, CropTech Corp. and ToBio LLC announced a biotech partnership to create life-saving drugs and other commercial products from tobacco plants.

Southern Florida is home to another thriving pharmaceutical cluster, including IVAX, Noven Pharmaceuticals and Swiss Caps USA. Miami-Dade County recently dedicated a "Biomedical Corridor" to help attract new companies. "Many professionals feel more comfortable going to a location where there are similar opportunities if the first job doesn't work out," said Robert Strauss, CEO, Noven Pharmaceuticals. "Having several companies in the same area also benefits the production workers, who typically don't relocate to a new job."