Carolina Headlines - Bioscience

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – For years companies such as Syngenta, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Monsanto and Novozymes, working closely with the state government and other groups, have created a thriving biotech industry in North Carolina. In fact, nearly 70 ag-biotech firms already employ approximately 4,000 workers in North Carolina. To support research and development for the ag-biotech sector, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., along with help from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, is building the Alexandria Ag-Tech Center, a research and development facility near Research Triangle Park.

The 50,000-square-foot Alexandria Ag-Tech Center will feature an 18,000-square-foot greenhouse research area that will be divided into individual greenhouse modules, support areas and other amenities for multiple biotech tenants. Each greenhouse facility will feature separate environmental controls, planting and support areas.

“As complex environmental issues – like the growing world population, limits to world food supply, shrinking natural resources, and the need to develop green technologies – become increasingly urgent, the new Ag-Tech Center along with North Carolina’s commitment to education, innovation and agribusiness will ensure that our state plays a vital role in tackling those challenges,” said Governor Bev Perdue.

“Alexandria is excited to be working with the State of North Carolina on this unique project,” said Oliver Sherrill, vice president and regional market director at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. “Agricultural biotechnology holds great promise for sustainable agriculture, improved human health, and clean energy. The Alexandria Ag-Tech Center will provide ag-biotechnology companies with unprecedented access to state-of-the-art greenhouse facilities for research, accelerating their growth, and further strengthening North Carolina’s position as a leader in ag biotechnology.”

The Alexandria Ag-Tech Center is one of several current projects being directed by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s AgBiotech sector.

“We see a vast potential in ag-biotech to broaden our economic base and create jobs,” said Norris Tolson, president and CEO of the Biotech Center. “When you look at the whole range and breadth of what agriculture can do for us in North Carolina, it is well beyond just food on the table.”

Read more about the North Carolina Ag-Tech Center.