Blue ribbon steering committee
RALEIGH, N.C.-- Gov. Mike Easley has asked the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to lead the development of a strategic business plan for growing the biotech industry in North Carolina.
"We are aggressively building our biotechnology infrastructure in North Carolina," Easley said. "We want those industries that are creating jobs around the country to know our commitment and to know that North Carolina is home to biotech."
Former governors Jim Hunt and Jim Martin have co-chaired a 15-member blue ribbon steering committee of distinguished business, academic and government leaders from throughout the state. (Editors: a list of steering committee members, invited to serve by Easley, follows this news release.)
Six working groups have been formed to analyze areas critical to biotechnology development including university research and infrastructure; K-12 education; workforce training; entrepreneurial companies; recruitment of life science companies; and public policy and societal considerations.
The steering committee held its first meeting on Wednesday, July 16, at 2 p.m. at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. The plan should be available for the public by the end of the year.
"The Biotechnology Center is honored to have been chosen for this important job and will work diligently with leaders throughout the state to draft a clear road map to the states biotechnology future," said Leslie Alexandre, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Center. "Our goal is to craft a plan that fully taps North Carolinas many resources to create jobs and products for the long-term benefit of all North Carolinians."
North Carolina's biotechnology industry ranks among the nation's five largest, with more than 150 companies employing 18,500 people and generating annual revenues of $3 billion. The industry has grown steadily between 10 and 15 percent in recent years.
Biotechnology is broadly defined as a collection of new scientific techniques that use living cells and their molecules to make products or solve problems. It has a wide range of application, including human and animal health care, food and agriculture, environmental protection and industrial processes.
The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation founded by the State in 1981 as the nation's first government-sponsored biotechnology center. Initially a part of state government, the Center was reconstituted in 1984 as a private, non-profit corporation, giving it greater flexibility and non-partisan neutrality.
Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide.
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Contact at the N.C. Biotechnology Center: Barry Teater, Director of Corporate Communications, 919-541-9366; e-mail barry_teater@ncbiotech.org. Visit the Center's web site at www.ncbiotech.org.
Biotechnology Strategic Plan Steering Committee
Co-chairs: former North Carolina governors Jim Hunt and Jim Martin
Members:
- Dr. Leslie Alexandre, president and CEO, North Carolina Biotechnology Center
- Ms. Molly Broad, president, University of North Carolina
- Mr. Jack Cecil, president, Biltmore Farms
- Mr. Lawrence Davenport, president, J.P. Davenport and Son, and Chairman, Golden LEAF
- Mr. Dennis Dougherty, general partner, Intersouth Partners
- Mr. Walter Davis, investor
- Mr. Jim Fain, secretary, N.C. Department of Commerce
- Mr. Billy Ray Hall, president, N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
- Dr. Charles Hamner, president, NCBIO
- Mr. Robert Ingram, former President and COO, GlaxoSmithKline
- Mr. Martin Lancaster, president, N.C. Department of Community Colleges
- Mr. Howard Lee, chairman, State Board of Education
- Ms. Beverly Perdue, lieutenant governor
- Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor, Health Affairs, Duke University
- Mr. Norris Tolson, secretary, N.C. Department of Revenue
- Mr. Richard Wiley, vice President, Duke Power Co. and president, N.C. Economic Developers Association
- The Honorable William L. Wainwright, representative, North Carolina House of Representatives
