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Millions pledged for biomanufacturing training initiative

A $64.5 MILLION COMMITMENT to train biomanufacturing workers could make North Carolina the world's leading site for the production of drugs, vaccines, enzymes and other biopharmaceutical and agricultural products, industry and state leaders say.

The board of directors of the Golden LEAF Foundation of August 8 voted unanimously to commit up to $60 million for a statewide training program for biomanufacturing workers, its largest grant to date. Golden LEAF is a non-profit organization that provides grants for economic development activities using half of the money from the state's tobacco settlement with cigarette manufacturers.

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"This action by Golden LEAF puts us on top of the wave of biotechnology," said Gov. Mike Easley. "It will place North Carolina in a prime position to corner the market on high-paying jobs."

The North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBIO) also has pledged up to $4.5 million in in-kind contributions of equipment, professional services and other resources from its member companies to support the training program. Sam Taylor, executive vice president of the statewide industry trade group, said the program will allow companies locating anywhere in North Carolina to know they will have immediate access to skilled workers with training in state-of-the art technologies and manufacturing processes. "We believe the Foundation's commitment to this program will propel North Carolina to the very forefront of the emerging biomanufacturing industry," he said.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center surveyed biomanufacturing companies throughout the state in 2002 to determine their future training and employment needs. "This initiative was tailored to meet those industry needs dead-on," said Leslie Alexandre, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Center. "We're determined that North Carolina will have the world's best-trained work-force for biomanufacturing."

N.C. State University in Raleigh will receive $36 million to build and equip a central biomanufacturing facility to train workers. Plans call for a 91,000-square-foot plant that will provide hands-on experience in a commercial-scale, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) environment that simulates an industrial setting. N.C. Central University in Durham will receive $19.1 million to establish graduate and undergraduate degree programs in applied process research. And the N.C. Community College System will receive $9.4 million to recruit and train workers in local communities and serve as a feeder system to the programs at NCSU and NCCU.

Molly Corbett Broad, president of the 16-campus University of North Carolina, said the program will prepare students across the entire university system for opportunities in biomanufacturing. "As a result," she said, "North Carolina will gain a critical competitive advantage in attracting new biomanufacturing companies to our state."

H. Martin Lancaster, president of the N.C. Community College System, said the $9.4 million awarded to the system will fund training for more than 65 percent of the state's future biotechnology workers. "Many of these people in mostly rural parts of North Carolina have depended on tobacco or the tobacco industry for their livelihood and are in critical need of new opportunities," he said. "This funding and the training community colleges will provide will give them that opportunity."

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Lawrence Davenport, chairman of the Golden LEAF board, declared the initiative "a model for the nation" and said it will result in North Carolina's having the best trained biotechnology workforce in the United States. "This action should cause companies in both the research and development and manufacturing stages to look to North Carolina first," he said.

Technology Industry

Millions pledged for biomanufacturing training initiative

BT Catalyst, Sept-Oct, 2003

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