- Marine science
- Medical devices
- Functional foods & biofuels
- Biopharmaceutical production
- Other opportunities
Marine Science
Marine sciences research has been a mainstay of the region for decades; the marine research and teaching labs of NC State University, UNC- Chapel Hill, and Duke University are all located in Carteret County along with a major NOAA Atlantic fish research facility. These facilities, along with UNC- Wilmington and East Carolina University (ECU) have embarked on a path to create a Center of Innovation (COI) in Marine Biotechnology to spur commercialization of discoveries with applications in medicine, food products, food safety, and environmental testing. The COI also includes the new inter-institutional Coastal Studies Institute located in Manteo.
Medical Devices
East Carolina University has long been a world leader in minimally invasive robotic surgery as University physicians led the da Vinci surgical system clinical trials for mitral valve repair and generated several patented devices from the collaboration with Intuitive Surgical.
The procedure, which allows surgeons to operate through tiny incisions or ports, have led to hundreds of commonly perform robotically assisted mitral-valve repairs. Greenville now serves as the global training site for doctors learning to use the system and has expanded da Vinci utilization to many other surgical procedures. As a result, ECU has developed expertise in biomedical physics, biophotonics, and biomedical devices.
In 2008, the ECU Brody School of Medicine, with support from its teaching hospital partner University Health Systems' Pitt County Memorial Hospital, will expand its heart treatment and research work with the opening of the $210 million East Carolina Heart Institute. The facility and its programs should generate more than 500 jobs and ultimately add $34 million yearly to the regional economy.
Other ‘centers of excellence' at ECU include biosensory systems, metabolic disorders (diabetes/obesity), and cancer. Read about East Carolina University's obesity work.
Functional foods and Biofuels
A new initiative in Northeastern NC emanates from applied science activities of faculty associated with the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Vernon James Research Station near Plymouth. Here, scientists are engaged in the development of functional foods and assessing biomass for biofuels, as well as the development of protocols for transferring GMO crops to the fields. Recent interest expressed by scientists at ECU and Elizabeth City State University will hopefully result in new R&D collaborations. Ventria Bioscience of Sacramento, CA was attracted to the region as a result of the capabilities of Vernon James' faculty and the "cGMP-like" farming practices of the area. Avoca is a leading plant extraction company that has operated in Bertie County, west of Edenton, for decades. Avoca processes over 8,000 acres of clary sage (an extract used in cosmetics) as well as performing specialty extraction services for many of the leading spice and food companies. Other ag-biotech activities can also be found in the region: Monsanto operates an R&D facility just south of Goldsboro where Goldsboro Milling Company also produces animal vaccines. SePRO, an Indiana-based herbicide company also performs its biologics R&D activities on a research farm near Whitakers (north of Rocky Mount).
In the area of biofuels, Xethanol (Spring Hope Biofuels) is building a cellulosic ethanol plant in Nash County (between Rocky Mount and Raleigh) capable of producing several millions of gallons of ethanol per year from biomass. NC Biofuels has also developed a biofuels facility in Weldon, near Roanoke Rapids just north of Rocky Mount on I-95.
Biopharmaceutical Production
In the east, work in bioscience is not focused solely on medicine, medical devices, and pharming activities. The region is home to several large biopharmaceutical production facilities, including the largest contract manufacturing facility in North America operated by DSM Pharmaceuticals (a multibillion dollar Dutch-based technology company). Others sizeable production facilities include Merck, Sandoz (Novartis), Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Hospira, and Metrics. Becton Dickinson recently announced plans to contract a $180 million, 250 employee sterile syringe fill/finish facility (March 2008) in Wilson.
Several other analytical laboratories, clinical trial management organizations/CRO's and biopharmaceutical consulting groups are also based in the region.
Other Opportunities
"The new Pharmacy School at Elizabeth City State University (developed in conjunction with UNC-Chapel Hill) also poses opportunity for future research activity in collaboration with scientists at East Carolina University into such fields as pharmacokinetics," said John Chaffee, director of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's Eastern Office.
"Eastern North Carolina affords so many opportunities for biotechnology research and its applications it is difficult to choose which ones hold the most promise for economic impact."