NCBiotech News

The Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein has launched at North Carolina State University.

The Bezos Earth Fund awarded NC State $30 million over five years to lead a center of excellence to create a biomanufacturing hub for dietary proteins that are environmentally friendly, healthy, tasty and affordable. The Earth Fund has committed $100 million to establish a network of open-access research and development centers focused on sustainable protein alternatives, expanding consumer choices.

Fayetteville Tech, Livingstone College latest to offer training programs

With North Carolina’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry continuing to expand, two college-based programs are working to stay ahead of the growth by preparing students for promising careers in the sector.

Five startup life sciences companies have emerged as regional winners of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s 2024 statewide Venture Challenge.

The companies (listed below) are the top picks by panels of judges from each NCBiotech region outside the Research Triangle. The five winners were chosen from a field of 14 startup companies that qualified for and just completed a two-month “regional assistance” period.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 71 grants and loans totaling $2,757,090 to universities, bioscience companies and non-profit organizations in the third quarter of its fiscal year.

The awards, made in January, February and March, will support life science research, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship throughout North Carolina. The funding will also help universities and companies attract follow-on funding from other sources.

The “Accelerate NC Career Celebration” at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center on May 7, 2024, brought together key players in the complex ecosystem that makes North Carolina a global leader in life sciences manufacturing.

This inaugural event recognized 69 individuals who have recently joined the life sciences workforce alongside their peers, teachers, employers, family and friends.

Two bioscience companies with operations in Durham are teaming up to discover new cancer therapies.

The collaboration between Boston-based Aktis Oncology and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company is aimed at developing radiopharmaceuticals for a range of solid tumors using Aktis’ novel mini-protein technology platform.

The $25 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant from the US Economic Development Administration is helping North Carolina’s booming life sciences ecosystem invest in a more diverse talent pipeline, according to a new report unveiled at an event on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

The report – authored by Brookings Metro, a community economic development-focused group at the nonprofit think tank Brookings Institution – was the topic of the Washington, D.C., event that featured a panel on learnings from the place-based investments of the BBBRC. 

The 5th BioAgTech World Congress, produced in partnership with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (NC PSI) at North Carolina State University, and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, made its Raleigh, NC, debut at the Raleigh Convention Center in late April. 

Over a year’s worth of recruitment and planning efforts went into North Carolina being named as the North American destination in the event’s global rotation. 

BTEC, along with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, recently received the Economic Development Partnership Award at North Carolina State University’s Office of Outreach and Engagement annual awards ceremony. The ceremony, which was held April 29 at the university’s Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center, honors the commitment of NC State faculty and staff to fulfilling NC State’s land-grant mission alongside community partners.

Morrisville-based Metabolon, a provider of metabolomics data and insights for the life sciences, has closed on a new $60 million credit facility to fund company growth and expand research and development efforts.

An initial $42.5 million was funded at closing and will be used to support the company's global expansion plans, including market penetration initiatives and strategic partnerships, the company said in a news release.

In the spirit of building a better mousetrap, medical device startup SonoVascular is developing a new technology to more effectively treat patients who have potentially life-threatening blood clots.

It’s spring, 2024. A season of hope for everyone from gardeners to college applicants. And it’s also harvest time for North Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem.

It’s time to kick off a year of celebration for the state’s prescient and steadfast 40-year investment in life sciences growth and development via the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech).

Asheville, North Carolina-based FedUp Foods this week announced it is expanding its operations with a state-of-the-art beverage manufacturing facility in Wilmington. The company is the largest private-label fermented beverage manufacturer in North America. 

Planning is complete for Triad BioNight, a much-anticipated celebration of bioscience growth and recognition of industry leaders in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region.

The event, expected to draw over 400 attendees, will be held Thursday, June 27, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro. Individual registrations are $100 at the event web page.

Duke University spinout Tune Therapeutics is rehearsing the overture of its avant-garde therapeutic platform targeting chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) that could also upend many more chronic disease treatments.

Tune, which is jointly based in Durham and Seattle, is one of a small group of gene therapy companies developing a new technology known as epigenetic editing.