Business Facilities - March 2008 - (Page B2)

region to maximize their own direct oversight and involvement. • Incentives for commercialization. Incentives that increase the propensity to commercialize can encourage product development and company formation. Measures by state university systems to streamline paperwork related to commercialization activities or increase royalty payments to inventors have been key stimuli to research, development, and commercialization. • Highly educated workforce. Beyond entrepreneurial scientists and business executives, biotechnology companies need access to highly educated and skilled workers. Clusters that have evolved in close proximity to top research universities can draw from a strong labor pool. But for less-mature clusters, the ability to provide highly skilled workers has required longer-term investments in education and training. • Specialized real estate. Life sciences research requires specialized laboratory spaces, such as “wet labs” that provide features, including special ventilation and utility needs such as natural gas, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. And research on contagious pathogens requires higher containment biosafety lab facilities. These specialized facilities are required to preserve the integrity of the research, as well as to prevent contamination of external spaces. • Tax and other incentives. Governments can facilitate private sector investment through incentives, such as R&D tax credits and net operating loss (NOL) carry forward provisions. While it is easy to identify the success factors that have built booming biotechnology clusters in the past, it is harder for regions that lack several of these ingredients to jump start the virtuous cycle of industry development. With increasing competition for biotechnology companies, national, B-2 state, and local governments often face significant constraints in the forms of inadequate venture capital, inexperienced management, and lack of infrastructure. One solution is to identify competitive niches, which can then be leveraged into broader participation. Biotechnology will continue to drive global competition and health sector convergence as geographies compete for their stake in the health care market of the future. The views expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP. BASF Corporation’s Agricultural Products Center at North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park BPTC, the North Carolina Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium, is a statewide partnership designed to ensure that biomanufacturing companies have the skilled workers they need when they need them. BPTC is a collaborative effort founded by North Carolina’s universities and community colleges, the non-profit North Carolina Golden LEAF Foundation, the N.C. Biotechnology Center, and the industry’s North Carolina Biosciences Organization. Under the BPTC umbrella are several educational initiatives, including: North Carolina: A Wealth of Biotechnology Opportunities North Carolina has a lot to offer in the biotechnology and life sciences arena: More clinical research organizations operate in this state than any other; more than 450 companies make it the third largest biotechnology hub in the U.S.; and the state is home to the world’s largest and best-known research park—the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park. But in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, state leaders know they cannot rest on past successes. That is why they have invested in an integrated set of collaborative programs to maintain North Carolina’s competitive edge. • The Biotechnology Training and Education Center (BTEC) at North Carolina State University. Opened in September 2007, this facility is the largest of its kind in the nation. Its on-site and distance education programs will train as many as 2,000 students and prospective employees per year. • The Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Training Enterprise (BRITE) Center at North Carolina Central University. This program is designed to provide bachelor’s degrees and advanced education in pharmaceutical and bioprocess development and related fields. A 52,000-square-foot facility currently under construction will provide laboratories for scholars con- A S P E C I A L A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N O F B U S I N E S S FA C I L I T I E S , B I O P H A R M , A N D P H A R M A C E U T I C A L E X E C U T I V E PHOTO CREDIT: THE RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK

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Business Facilities - March 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots California Seeks Immigration Reform To Spur Economic Growth Outside the Biotechnology Clusters Global Biotech Competition Heats Up Location Is Key To Your Bottom Line New Incentives For New Hampshire Metro Spotlight: Jersey City, NJ Europe's Center For Goods, Real and Virtual Access Your Markets From Pennsylvania Corporate Moves: Illinois Louisiana Upgrades Important Port Road Projects To Accelerate Michigan's Economy Corporate Moves: South Carolina Metro Spotlight: Salt Lake City, UT Advertiser Index Inside LiveXchange

Business Facilities - March 2008

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