With both proximity to and synergy with the globally renowned Research Triangle, the Carolina Core is fast emerging as a leader in life sciences and biomedical breakthroughs.
Case in point is Winston-Salem’s Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies and the first in the world to engineer laboratory-grown organs. Also housed in the city’s Innovation Quarter is Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Center for Artificial Intelligence Research; iQ Healthtech Labs, which is building partnerships that drive innovation; KeraNetics, which is developing biomaterials for wound care and tissue regeneration; and many other biomed-related companies.
The region is now home to more than 75 biotech companies, including LabCorp, the world’s leading health care diagnostics company, and agriculture tech giant Syngenta. In Sanford, San Francisco-based Audentes Therapeutics manufactures genetic medicines and Astelles Gene Therapies announced a $100 million investment in a new large-scale gene manufacturing facility.
Fortune 500 leaders are also creating breakthroughs in the Carolina Core. The area’s cluster includes Procter & Gamble, manufacturing every bottle of Pepto-Bismol from its Greensboro location with the recent announcement of a $110 million expansion of the facility; Pfizer, addressing the root cause of diseases caused by genetic mutation at its gene therapy plant in Sanford; and Thermo Fisher Scientific, manufacturing soft gel capsules at its High Point facility.
Strong Talent Pipeline
New biomedical companies in the Carolina Core have a deep pool of qualified talent from which to recruit. The talent pipeline is fed by a steady stream of graduates from Wake Forest School of Medicine, Wake Forest University’s biomedical graduate programs, Elon University’s biology program, and biotechnology programs at Alamance Community College and Forsyth Technical Community College, and more.
Companies can also tap into talent being spun out of life science companies in the Research Triangle and nearby universities like UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University and NC State.
Leading Innovation Districts
Many biomedical breakthroughs in the Carolina Core are concentrated within Innovation Quarter, an innovation district in Winston-Salem home to 90 companies employing more than 3,600 people. Innovation Quarter established iQ Healthtech Labs in 2020, creating collaborations between its tenants, traditional and non-traditional partners, commercial markets and potential investors to shorten the life cycle of taking healthtech solutions from ideation to the marketplace.
A $400-million-dollar development, Gateway Research Park in Greensboro provides world-class laboratories and office space to businesses, universities and the local community. Tenants and partners utilize shared resources for technological growth, discovery and progress and Gateway’s premier campus also provides support to help turn cutting-edge intellectual property into thriving businesses in areas of life and physical science, engineering and other applied sciences.
Located at Gateway Research Park is the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), an academic collaboration between North Carolina A&T State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. JSNN is working on leading-edge research projects in the nanoscience field and forging partnerships with scientists and researchers from industry, academia and government, working together to create impactful scientific research that drives change.
Notable Employers
