RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 7, 2002--The North Carolina Biotechnology Center will extend its reach throughout the state by opening four offices across the state, starting with the first in Winston-Salem to serve the Piedmont Triad.
The executive committee of the Biotechnology Center's board of directors recently approved the opening of the Center's first office outside Research Triangle Park in Winston-Salem's Piedmont Triad Research Park. Slated to open in June, the office will have a full-time staff of two that will assist area economic developers with their efforts to catalyze and accelerate the growth of the industry in that region.
The Piedmont Triad is composed of 12 counties in the northern central portion of the state, which includes Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. The Triad is home to about 50 life-science companies and has a strong science, research and education base that includes Wake Forest University, Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem State University, Salem College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
The region has also further strengthened its position with the creation of the Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem. The city recently announced plans to add about 180 acres to the existing park, a five-block campus with multistory buildings and more than 20 tenants, including small start-up companies. Ten acres of the proposed expansion will be donated by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The Biotechnology Center's new extension office will be made possible by a $200,000 contribution from Wake Forest University and $25,000 from the Biotechnology Center. Forsyth Technical Community College has offered computers and WinstonNet will provide Internet access.
The Biotechnology Center is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, the traditional hub for most research endeavors in the state. In recent years, however, the biotechnology strengths of other regions have surfaced to the point where the Center could help to cultivate their potential more fully.
Since its inception, the Biotechnology Center has provided grants to universities and assistance to companies throughout the state, but extension offices will help provide an extra push for biotechnology development in the Piedmont Triad, the Charlotte area, Western North Carolina and Eastern North Carolina.
There is currently no timeline or funding for the creation of these other extension offices, but the Biotechnology Center is assessing each region's needs. This process has already been completed in Western North Carolina, and an extension office has been recommended for Asheville.
For information about the Center's outreach endeavors, contact W. Steven Burke, senior vice president for corporate affairs and external relations, at 919-541-9366.
