Why do so many life sciences companies call North Carolina home?

North Carolina accelerates success in the life sciences. Top talent, infrastructure and a business-friendly climate are among the reasons why companies are choosing the Tar Heel state. 

Our talent pool of 75,000 highly skilled workers are employed by our 830 life sciences companies. An additional 2,500 companies support the life sciences sector.

Our top-tier research universities, training and scientific infrastructure, and low cost of doing business, make North Carolina the right place for growing companies.

 

Strong, diverse life sciences cluster

  • Core strengths in pharma and biopharma manufacturing, gene and cell therapy, contract research, and agricultural technology

  • Ranked the nation’s fourth leading hub for biotechnology activity per Fierce Biotech

  • Named the 2022 State of the Year per Business Facilities 

  • Named the 2023 Top State for Business per CNBC

Training Infrastructure

colleges
58

community colleges

diploma
25,657

life sciences degrees conferred 2016-2021

UNC system campuses
16

UNC campuses

private colleges
36

private colleges

Scientific Infrastructure

medical schools
5

medical schools

4 pharmacy schools
4

pharmacy schools

3 cancer centers
3

comprehensive cancer centers

land grant universities
2

land grant universities

vet school
1

veterinary school

International Connections

 international companies
96

international companies

international companies
23

countries

airports
2

international airports

100 million people in a 500-mile radius
100 million

people in a 500-mile radius

Life Sciences Industry News

Funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) will lead a team of university, N.C. Cooperative Extension, business and research partners in developing a plan to share information and technology faster and more broadly across the state by building an “ag tech corridor” from central North Carolina to the east. 

Two animal health and nutrition companies that have partnered on product development for close to 16 years are now working in the same barn, so to speak.

As concerns mount over the climate impact of methane gas emissions, a Raleigh startup is commercializing its engineered corn that gives farmers a way to practically eliminate methane emissions from cattle.

Elysia Creative Biology is working within the existing agricultural supply chain to boost the use of corn feed that prevents methane emissions. The three-person company, founded in 2021, plans to provide its modified corn seed to farms that produce corn supplies for feed mills, which in turn sell animal feed to dairy farmers.

TEConomy Small Cover

2022 TEConomy Report


The "2022 Evidence and Opportunity: Impact of Life Sciences in North Carolina" report from TEConomy Partners analyzes the impact and transformation of life sciences in North Carolina.

North Carolina infrastructure map

North Carolina's infrastructure supports life sciences companies all across the state. Some of our major advantages include:

  • An ideal mid-Atlantic location
  • Four international airports, including Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte Douglas airports
  • Daily freight and passenger trains with 3,200 miles of railroad
  • Two coastal ports, including 3 million cubic feet of cold storage space
  • 90,000+ miles of highway connecting NC to all corners of the U.S.

North Carolina's Life Sciences Leaders

alcami
basf
baxter
bd
biogen
cook medical
fujifilm diosynth
grifols
iqvia
labcorp
Merck
novartis
novo nordisk
novozymes
Pfizer
PPD
CSL Seqirus
Stiefel
syneos health
syngenta
Thermo Fisher Scientific
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