NCBiotech News

It’s hard to find an employer that won’t consider military veterans when looking to fill jobs with skilled, dedicated and hard-working employees. But that doesn’t mean hiring a veteran is a slam dunk. Employers and job candidates both have to do their part to make the arrangement work, said speakers at a recent workshop on employing veterans.

The recently passed federal defense budget for 2026 includes dedicated funding for the use of bioengineered blood vessels developed by Durham-based Humacyte to treat warfighter injuries.

Life sciences companies from around the globe continued to favor North Carolina for both new sites and expanded operations in 2025. Eighteen companies announced expansions, headquarters relocations, or new facilities totaling $3.79 billion during the year. The projects are expected to create 1,380 jobs in 10 communities across the state.

AskBio Inc., an RTP-based gene therapy company wholly owned and independently operated as a subsidiary of Bayer AG, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acceptance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for AB-1009, an adeno-associated virus gene therapy in development for late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD).

The Traits Company, an agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, has announced a strategic collaboration with U.K.-based Wild Bioscience to accelerate the development of next-generation soybean varieties.

URO-1, a Greensboro medical device company specialized in prostate and soft tissue cancer diagnostics, is expanding its relationship with Novant Health as a designated vendor for its SUREcore and coreCARE platform for prostate biopsy.

In the Marvel Comics universe, Thor is known for wielding a magical hammer with superhuman stamina. But at North Carolina State University, Thor is a hammer-wielding robot in training for an earthly but backbreaking task: tending vegetables.

A new 5-year federal award of up to $24.8 million to the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) will help address the nation’s growing organ donor shortage by bioprinting on-demand kidney tissues.

Two North Carolina-based contract research organizations (CROs) are joining forces to provide expanded clinical trial services in oncology.

WEP Clinical (WEP), a global contract research organization (CRO) based in Morrisville, N.C., has acquired Siron Clinical, a Netherlands-based European CRO specializing in clinical operations for biotech companies.

As doctors and patients shift more care delivery to the home, it’s becoming more apparent that homes aren’t always the safest place to be.

Apiject Holdings, Inc., has signed a lease for a 30,000-square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Apex, N.C. The site will also serve as the corporate headquarters of Vanguard Utility, Apiject's operational subsidiary.

Genentech, considered one of the biotech industry’s founding companies, announced in May 2025 a $700 million, 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Holly Springs. Today, the company announced it was more than doubling that investment to $2 billion, increasing production volume and scale at the facility, which broke ground in August 2025.

Eastern North Carolina's biomanufacturing sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the region capturing the lion's share of statewide life sciences investment in 2024 while expanding innovative training programs to meet surging workforce demands.

Phytoform Labs, a U.K.-based plant biotechnology innovator solving food supply challenges with genetic solutions, will be the first startup outside of North Carolina State University’s research community to utilize the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative’s Seed2Grow agricultural technology incubator.