Case Study 1: GlaxoSmithKline

As one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been successful on its self-proclaimed “quest to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer”. As a leader in four major therapeutic areas—anti-infectives, central nervous system, respiratory and gastro-intestinal/metabolic—GSK provides a numerous variety of popular pharmaceuticals for tremendous profit. Although head-quartered in the U.K., Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina acts as the companies U.S. command center, providing the state with vast investment and employment. In the 2003 Annual Report, GSK reported worldwide sales of $35.2 billion, for a 7% share of the world’s pharmaceutical market, and over $1 billion of sales in the RTP location alone. To operate the pharmaceutical giant, GSK employs over 100,000 employees worldwide, with over 8,500 North Carolinian employees in the RTP.¹

In addition to the capital investment and employment opportunities benefiting North Carolina, GSK also has made a strong commitment to the state through its “North Carolina GSK Foundation”. As stated on the company’s website, “The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation supports activities in North Carolina that help meet the educational and health needs of today's society and future generations. The Foundation focuses on programs that emphasize the understanding and application of health, science and education at all academic and professional levels”. Additionally, the website provides the following information about the grants rewarded in 2001 alone:

Duke University Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
A $200,000 grant will launch the Institute's program on Multi-Sector Public Policy, which will promote and sponsor leading scholarly and policy research and develop innovative courses and other educational activities focusing on the multi-sectoral aspect of public policy. The MSPP program holds the promise of substantively impacting public policy problems in the Triangle and the state, as well as on national and international fronts.

Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships
A grant of $160,000 over four years will sponsor two individuals for Eisenhower Fellowships, which help ready the next generation of leaders in the Triangle area. Fellows are chosen among local talent and are sponsored for a multi-week trip abroad to explore issues of vital concern to the Triangle region. They then share their experiences and work with regional leaders to implement and disseminate the new approaches which they observed overseas.

Louisburg College Learning Partners Program
A $200,000 grant will provide funding for twenty scholarships for low-income, minority students with learning disabilities to attend Louisburg College and participate in the Learning Partners program. Learning Partners is among just a few post-secondary programs nationwide that offers specialized faculty, reading labs, technology aids and one-on-one interaction with instructors and residence advisors to provide critical training to students with learning disabilities.

North Carolina Central University Foundation
Women in Science Scholars Program
A $27,000 grant establishes North Carolina Central University's participation in the Women in Science Scholars Program, a unique mentoring enterprise that encourages women undergraduates in North Carolina to pursue careers in the sciences while raising awareness of job opportunities in various scientific fields. NCCU's participation will enrich the school's undergraduate science studies and enhance the support of female students in scientific research.

North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation
A grant of $1,000,000 over three years will support the establishment of an Endowment for Teacher Preparation, which will be utilized to increase the number of teachers produced and available to meet the needs of rural and underserved school districts. The Endowment addresses the tremendous shortage of elementary and secondary school teachers that exists in the state by providing degree programs through local community colleges.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
A $25,000 grant will support the Western North Carolina Literacy Initiative by providing fifty individual memberships to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic for students who have been diagnosed with a print disability. This service will fill an unmet need, bringing extensive reading resources to learning-disabled children in the five rural counties of Western North Carolina for the first time.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
ECHO Program
A grant of $1,400,000 over four years will help the UNC Program on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes (ECHO) reduce health disparities that exist among different ethnicities, cultures and socioeconomic groups in the state. UNC's innovative, multi-disciplinary program utilizes community interactions and service, information dissemination, training future health professionals and inter-institutional collaboration to improve the health status of all North Carolinians.²

As is evident, GlaxoSmithKline is a corporation that has benefited North Carolina both economically and socially, through outstanding business practices and community-conscience behavior. In an era when jobs are at a premium in North Carolina, continued collaboration between the state and GSK appears to be a win-win situation, as more residents find employment and GSK continues to profit, while still giving back to society. The precedent set by GSK that success is possible in RTP must surely encourage state officials to continue training a workforce that is competent in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Undoubtedly, the low-skill labor that was once prevalent in North Carolina must be upgraded to continue to attract cutting-edge biotech companies. Only then will North Carolina’s currently struggling economy become vibrant and prosperous once-again.

Case Study 2: Affinergy

Incorporated in March 2003, Affinergy Inc. is one of many small, growing biotech firms located in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP). In stark contrast to the colossal, multinational operations of GlaxoSmithKline, Affinergy Inc. was created and developed primarily utilizing North Carolina’s educational and industrial system. For the purpose of our website, a case study of Affinergy highlights the many resources and institutions available to growing biotech firms in North Carolina and demonstrates why government promotion of the industry might just save its economy.

In June of 2000, two scientists at Duke University started work on a “biological glue” that would regulate biology on the surfaces of medical devices. In theory, Dr. Mark Grinstaff and Dr. Daniel Kenan both believed that such a biomedical coating could be used to prevent infections, improve integration of devices in the body, and create new medical products.¹ Throughout 2001, the doctors demonstrated that polymer-specific substrates could be attached to medical devices. In November of the same year, the doctors applied for provisional patents and prepared for the business aspect of applying their technology. Come 2002, a program at Duke University’s Fuqua Graduate School of Business, titled the New Venture Clinic, gave 5 students a chance to investigate the commercialization potential of the biomedical coating. The technology had potential, and in March 2003, Affinergy was incorporated as a C corporation. One month later, Affinergy was awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Health to further develop their technology. Over the next year, Affinergy created 7 high-skill jobs to finish their business plan, raise capital and manage the corporation. Then, in October 2003, in an attempt to expedite commercial applications, Affinergy moved into the BD BioVenture Center to set up laboratory operations and explore collaboration opportunities. Of importance, the BioVenture Center in Research Triangle Park allows emerging biotech corporations “to quickly establish laboratory operations while leveraging the significant infrastructure of a Fortune 500 company”.² The success of Affinergy has not gone unnoticed and the Center for Entrepreneurial Development recently selected the corporation to be a presenting company at Venture 2004, the Southeast's premier venture financing conference in Chapel Hill, NC. Most recently, Affinergy “signed an exclusive worldwide license for the ‘Interfacial Biomaterials’ coatings technology developed at Duke University. The license agreement includes patent applications and coating materials that have already been developed”.³ With the completion of licensing, Affinergy will now begin what is certain to be a highly profitable commercial sale of their technology. On the future of Affinergy, Dr. Robert L. Taber, vice chancellor of the Duke Medical Center says, "With its new laboratory facilities in the Becton Dickinson Technologies incubator, Affinergy appears ready to develop the Interfacial Biomaterials technology quickly. We believe these coatings have the potential to improve the quality of health care across many different fields."⁴

The institutions of North Carolina have provided Affinergy with the resources to create, develop and market a highly technical product. With success, Affinergy will give back to the system through employment of North Carolinians and capital investment. Similar to GlaxoSmithKline, a win-win situation results when North Carolina promotes the biotechnology industry.