Biotech Center Exec Meets With Council

North Carolina’s track record of job growth in the life sciences though the recession and its aftermath demonstrates that the state has been doing things right, a North Carolina Biotechnology Center executive said after participating in one of several federal Jobs and Competitiveness Council sessions in the Triangle today.

Kenneth Tindall, Ph.D., senior vice president, Science and Business Development, said there was “a good discussion” in the hour-long roundtable, hosted by George Scangos, Ph.D., Biogen Idec CEO, at the company headquarters in Research Triangle Park. It allowed executives from major American firms on the Council to hear what counterparts at large and small North Carolina life-science companies view as important for economic growth.

“Those of us around the conference table were in agreement over how difficult this industry can be,” said Tindall, “including everything from financing to FDA regulations. However, thoughtful and specific recommendations were made to council members suggesting ways to better position biotechnology for continued growth.” 

Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, who ran the meeting, said one key reason the Council met here is that this area is identified as one of the places in the country that is doing things right.

Council members participating in the session include:

• Mark Gallogly, co-founder and managing partner of New York City-based Centerbridge Partners, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and distressed securities;
• A.G. Lafley, iconic CEO of Procter and Gamble who retired two years ago;
• Eric Lander, Ph.D., an MIT biology professor internationally recognized as a leader in genomics; and
• Antonio Perez, chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak.

The roundtable at Biogen, attended by some two dozen executives from North Carolina biotech and other life science companies, was one of several taking place in the Triangle, followed by a speech from President Obama during a visit to CREE, a fast-growing RTP LED lighting company.

The Council, led by GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, was created to provide non-partisan advice to the President on ways to strengthen the economy and ensure U.S. competitiveness.  It’s made up of representatives of the various sectors of the economy who offer diverse perspectives of the private sector, employers, and workers on how the federal government can best foster growth, competitiveness, innovation, and job creation.