University talent, low costs fuel Triangle biotech growth

The Triangle continues to solidify itself as a force in the biotech industry, ranking No. 6 in CBRE’s 2022 analysis of life science research talent clusters.

Why it matters: While Apple and Google grab a lot of headlines for their planned growth in the Triangle, biotech companies have been steadily adding high-paying jobs here.

• With so much talent and intellectual property coming out of the local universities, as well as relatively cheaper land costs, expect that to continue.

Driving the news: CBRE's report notes that, given its size, the Triangle has an outsized presence of Ph.D. graduates in biological and biomedical sciences — thanks to programs at Duke, UNC and N.C. State.

• Biotech salaries also stretch further here than in other cities. The region has the second-best ratio of biochemist salaries to cost of living, only trailing Houston.
• That has helped the Triangle lure talent from more expensive metros, like Boston and San Francisco.

What's next: The Triangle's biotech industry could expand rapidly in the coming years, with billions of dollars' worth of lab space planned or under construction.

• In January, Trinity Capital announced plans to build a $1 billion, 109-acre biotech campus near Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville.
• That same month, one of the largest remaining parcels of land in Research Triangle Park was purchased for nearly $100 million by Alexandria Real Estate, and is earmarked for a biotech campus.
• In the southern Wake County town of Holly Springs, drug manufacturers Fujifilm Diosynth and Amgen are building huge facilities that will add hundreds of jobs.