Site Expansion - Regional Round-Up: North Carolina

Charlotte: 581,676; Raleigh: 303,567; Greensboro: 227,793; Durham: 198,688; Winston-Salem: 190,851; Fayetteville: 123,844 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas: Charlotte-Gastonia: 1,404,862; Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point: 1,283,509;Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill: 1,268,372

According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, targeted companies include those in industries traditionally considered "high tech," such as telecommunications and biotechnology, and companies that apply new and innovative technology to remain competitive in traditional industries, such as textiles and furniture (visit

Approximately 20,000 in biopharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals

Duke University; East Carolina University; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Wake Forest University

R&D; contract biomanufacturing; clinical research and testing

Various tax incentives and relocation inducements; tailored workforce training through the state's 54 community colleges

Research Triangle region of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the Research Triangle Park, 100-plus biotechnology companies and 75 contract research and testing companies:

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center — the world's first government-sponsored biotechnology initiative — is in its third decade of promoting biotechnology development in the state; Golden LEAF, a foundation set up by the state to invest tobacco settlement funds in economic development, has committed $60 million for a statewide network to train workers for jobs in biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing; and in 2003, the state's General Assembly created a Life Sciences Revenue Bond Authority to help companies finance the construction of biomanufacturing plants in the state. A strategic plan for growing North Carolina's biotechnology industry was presented to Governor Mike Easley in January 2004. The plan, "New Jobs Across North Carolina," includes 54 recommendations aimed at improving research, business, and education statewide with emphasis on biomanufacturing and start-up companies (visit