Your Business Resource for Greenville Metro and Upstate South Carolina

Skilled worker availability. Exceptional quality of life. A low cost of living, and even lower cost of doing business. Greenville has much to offer savvy organizations seeking competitive advantage in the ever-changing global marketplace.

Still, few Greenvillians know of the Upstate’s burgeoning biosciences cluster and the promise it holds for the region. With dozens of pharmaceutical and medical device companies populating this region – including Bausch & Lomb, Nutra Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical Associates, Ortec, Lab21 and others – Greenville has positioned itself well for dynamic growth within the biosciences arena.

Biosciences are a broad category at the cutting edge of science, in which living cells and materials produced by cells are used to create pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural, environmental and other products. The groundbreaking discoveries made by professionals in this field heal, feed and fuel the world – fighting disease, enhancing quality of life, improving food production, and making manufacturing more efficient.

The Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) advances our local bioscience industry through collaboration in workforce development, prospect marketing and educational support, helping Greenville County citizens to reap the benefits of a world-class cluster. With more than 550 companies and institutions statewide employing 13,520 people at an average annual wage of $53,275, bioscience is big business. And biosciences represent the fastest-growing sector of the innovation economy, with Palmetto State inventors earning some 357 life science patents over the last six years, according to a 2010 study by Battelle Institute.

That same study ranked Greenville’s workforce fifth nationally in terms of largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) dedicated to the biosciences, and a Top 25 MSA based on overall employment levels within the drug and pharmaceutical fields. Greenville County houses over 34 percent of the state’s private employment in the drug and pharmaceutical industries, and over 50 medical device companies call the Upstate home.

Fueling this rapid growth and potential requires private-public collaboration in education and training, and Greenville is blessed in this regard.

The Greenville Hospital System/Clemson University Biomedical Cooperative links Clemson’s expertise in biomedical research with the hospital system’s clinical expertise to incubate breakthroughs in clinical and biomedical sciences. The university’s departments of Genetics and Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Environmental Toxicology, and Genomics provide research talent; the hospital system provides clinical expertise and real-world application. The result is accelerated research, improved healthcare, and deepening of our talent pool of bioscience expertise.

Greenville Hospital System’s Institute for Translational Oncology Research (ITOR), launched in 2004, provides advanced treatments while accelerating delivery of life-saving cancer drugs. Of GHS’s 600-plus clinical trials, ITOR’s Clinical Research Unit offers more than 20 trials open to patient enrollment, including first-in-human drug trials and gene-based therapy.

Greenville Technical College became an important partner in developing talented employees to support the expanding field with the 2007 launch of its Associate in Applied Sciences/ Biotechnology program, notes Kevin Landmesser, Greenville Area Development Corporation vice president.

“As we began to target the biosciences cluster, it became clear that a steady pipeline of talented professionals would be essential,” said Landmesser. “Greenville Tech stepped up to the plate to develop a challenging biotechnology curriculum that produces top talent for the industry.”

Headed by Kathy Romero, who helped launch the program at Greenville Tech, the Associate of Applied Science in Biotechnology degree is the only two-year program of its kind in South Carolina. Providing a strong educational base to prepare students for entry-level employment, the program has been embraced by Upstate employers from the outset.

“We currently have student interns with Nutra Manufacturing, Lab 21, Perrigo and DHEC,” said Romero recently. “By coming in with strong biology and chemistry training, students are prepared from the outset to contribute. And that makes them attractive to hire.”

Typically admitting about ten new students each semester, Romero has created a challenging curriculum encompassing a mix of chemistry, biology, biotechnology, cell culture, immunology, molecular biology and bioprocessing. Coupled with plenty of hands-on research and a required internship lets the school turn out students “ready to make a difference for employers the minute they walk in their doors,” she added.

Romero is justifiably proud of the cutting-edge equipment Greenville Tech offers – fluorescent microscopes, cell incubators, bioreactors, thermal cyclers, high performance chromatograph and complete cell culture lab included. More importantly, she’s excited about preparing students for such a challenging arena.

“Many times we have to educate prospective students about this field and its many opportunities, but when they come in and learn about these great jobs with high quality organizations, the light goes on for them,” she said.

As you look for growth in the coming years, look to Greenville County as one of the game-changers in biosciences. And look to the efforts of visionaries at Clemson, Greenville Hospital System and Greenville Tech’s biotechnology program as a reason for that growth and prosperity.

Jerry Howard is President and CEO of the Greenville Area Development Corporation. He can be reached at (864) 235-2008, or via email at jhoward@greenvillecounty.org.