Biotechnology wants a lead role: after years of preparing a work force and other infrastructure, the industry is ready to take a star turn in the state's economy.

• Position: SPONSORED SECTION

Every state covets biotechnology, but industry leaders in North Carolina believe the state is especially well-positioned for growth. BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA recently asked some of those leaders to address industry issues during a round-table discussion sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park. Participating were Norris Tolson, president and CEO of the biotech center; Sam Taylor, president of the Raleigh-based North Carolina Biosciences Organization, an industry trade group; Chris Kroeger, a partner at Durham-based venture-capital firm Aurora Funds; and two Tar Heel biotech CEOs, Vipin Garg of Durham-based Tranzyme Pharma, which is developing drugs to treat gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases, and Sarah Yocum of Winston-Salem-based Aqualutions, which is developing diagnostic tests to benefit aquaculture. The round table, moderated by Arthur O. Murray, BNC's managing editor for special projects, was held at the biotech center.

What is the state of biotechnology here?

Tolson: We're going to create 75,000 jobs in the next 15 years or less. We already have 50,000. We believe they will come from homegrown companies plus others that we'll be able to recruit, some already in the mix.

Taylor: We've been around for 20 years, but the technologies that really have an application in health care are just beginning to open up. You're going to see this industry continue to grow steeply, not only in the number of jobs it creates but also in the amount of wealth it generates and the economic contribution it makes across the board.

Yocum: I'm coming in on the tail end of that 20 years, and I wouldn't have chosen any other place to be.

Kroeger: From the venture-capital perspective, we look at a couple of key metrics. Deal flow in primarily very early-stage entrepreneurial companies has been strong for years, in particular on the therapeutic side. The flip side is exits: Are biotechnology companies going public or being sold? We've had a few significant IPOs over the past five years or so, and there are a number of companies that are in registration or about to get registered. The question is, will the IPO window remain open? But it's a promising sign that we've got companies that have matured to that stage.

Garg: The challenge is, how do we take products that are coming out of our companies to the next level of success, both in terms of the product itself and financially? That's really what's going to take us to the next level as a state and an industry.

So how do you get to the next level?

Taylor: First, we have to understand that what we see today in this industry--the drugs, the devices, the diagnostics--are not going to be the technologies of tomorrow. The contours of the science are going to continue to change. We've laid a great groundwork for producing the labor force that we need to deal with that kind of evolving product line. Our next steps really need to be in fostering innovation at the small-company level.

What kinds of steps?

Taylor: We have an R & D tax credit, we have a qualified-business-venture tax credit. But we need more types of tax incentives and maybe even some direct appropriations to entities like the biotech center to fill that...