In the early 1980s, the state’s General Assembly appointed a legislative study commission to determine how North Carolina could ensure long-term economic benefits from biotechnology.

A yearlong study by the commission concluded that North Carolina needed a private, non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to biotechnology development.

The state legislatures then established the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, as the world’s first government-sponsored organization dedicated to developing the biotechnology industry.
Mission

The 66-member staff seeks to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide.

The Biotechnology Center is not a site for laboratory research or company incubation. Instead, it works to strengthen the research capabilities of North Carolina’s companies and universities.

This strategy avoids duplication of effort and uses limited resources more efficiently.
Funding

The Biotechnology Center receives nearly all of its funding from the General Assembly. Our state appropriation for FY 06-07 is $13.1 million, and our budget for the year is $17.6 million.

Since 1984 the Biotechnology Center has invested more than $187 million in state monies to develop biotechnology statewide.