Recent Initiatives

As a key source of highly trained workers and the research that fuels innovation, higher education is critical to North Carolina's economic future. NCBIO has been an important advocate for expanded educational and research opportunities for our students, just as it has strongly supported new opportunities for the state's bioscience companies.
  1. Led a coalition of bioscience companies and North Carolina educational institutions in the establishment of the North Carolina Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium and successful solicitation of $60 million in grants from the North Carolina Golden LEAF Foundation.  The grants will fund workforce education and training facilities at the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System.  Facilities will include a new $35 million Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center at North Carolina State University. Here trainees will obtain hands-on experience with commercial scale biomanufacturing unit operations including fermentation, cell line development, purification, aseptic fill and finish, and other activities common throughout the biotechnology industry.  The initiative will also include a major expansion of North Carolina’s community college biotechnology training programs and construction of a new $19 million graduate and undergraduate bioscience learning center at North Carolina Central University.   
  2. Spearheaded a successful collaboration with the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) and the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association (NCEITA) to renew North Carolina’s unique Qualified Business Venture Tax Credit through 2006.
  3. Successfully opposed legislation that would have curtailed the responsible sharing of health information necessary to monitor the long-term safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals.
  4. Worked with representatives of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to stop reductions in Medicaid reimbursement for brand name pharmaceuticals.
  5. Lobbied effectively against further cuts in funding for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
  6. Successfully opposed state restrictions the possession or use of certain genetically modified crops or limited.
  7. Deferred legislation restricting out-licensing of state funded technologies.   
  8. Opposed restrictions on Medicaid enrollee access to brand name prescription drugs.
  9. Revised anti-bioterrorism legislation to minimize impact on bioscience research and manufacturing.
  10. Opposed funding reductions for North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
  11. Successful efforts to defeat or revise legislation that would have impaired the industry's future growth.
  12. Played a key role in winning enactment of legislation allowing the North Carolina State Treasurer to invest up to $6 billion of state pension funds monies in venture capital and alternative investment vehicles.
  13. Hosted a major symposium on Ethical, Cultural and Legal Issues in Biotechnology.
  14. Generated financial and in-kind support for biotechnology and high technology venture fairs sponsored by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in Research Triangle Park and Birmingham, Alabama; as well as financial support for Biotech 2001, hosted by CED and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
  15. Active in the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's Genomics and Bioinformatics Consortium, and in federal legislative lobbying efforts led by the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
  16. Hosted a welcoming reception for more than 200 scientists and policy makers from around the world for an international conference on Living Modified Organisms and the Environment