| RELEASE: Immediate | CONTACT: Susan Seymour, Norman Smit |
| DATE: November 19, 2004 | PHONE: (919) 807-7155 or 807-7181 |
NCCCS State Board Approves BioNetwork Validation Academy & Grants
Raleigh - An Academy that could be the lynchpin in attracting major biomanufacturing facilities to North Carolina was approved by the State Board of Community Colleges today. The BioNetwork Validation Academy is a first-of-kind collaboration in the world between the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE), the NCCCS biotech initiative, BioNetwork, and the NC Department of Commerce. The BioNetwork Validation Academy will provide North Carolinean biopharmaceutical workers with key skills needed to commission new pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing facilities and improve Good Manufacturing Practices at existing plants.
The partnership between BioNetwork and ISPE - the primary professional organization for this industry with over 23,000 members worldwide - is a recognition of the leading role that BioNetwork is playing in educating and training for the biopharmaceutical industry. At the recent BioNetwork Industry Advisory Board meeting (November 2, 2004), ISPE Education Vice President Jerry Roth said "In ISPE's 25 years of existence, this has been the first time we have ever developed a partnership with an educational institution such as BioNetwork." ISPE approved its partnership with BioNetwork at its international Board meeting in Berlin in October, giving BioNetwork access to state-of-the-art validation training material and curricula.
The impact of the academy should be enormous. Validation expert Jeff Odum says "validation costs run between 5%-9% of the typical cost of a new facility. A new plant can cost $100 million or more." By providing training in this field, the BioNetwork Academy can save companies millions of dollars as well as enhance quality and profitability. These savings are an incentive the North Carolina Department of Commerce is able to bring to the negotiating table when it is competing with other states to bring new biopharmaceutical facilities to North Carolina.
"The bottom line is that this Academy could create thousands of jobs for the state", says Susan Seymour, BioNetwork Director. Department of Commerce Secretary Jim Fain points out that the Academy fits in with Governor Easley's vision of growing North Carolina's economy through education, thereby enabling citizens to obtain the well-paid technological jobs of the future. Secretary Fain said that "no institution has been more deeply committed to the development of the economic future of North Carolina than Community Colleges have." The Department of Commerce is providing funding of $400,000 to support the academy.
In addition to the Academy, the State Board of Community Colleges also approved the second wave of biotech grants to BioNetwork Community Colleges. Thirteen grants to 11 community colleges were approved totalling $1,136,242. (A complete listing follows at the end of this release.) The grants form part of the startup funding for BioNetwork from Golden LEAF. Golden LEAF Golden LEAF committed $8.7 million dollars to the Community College System to develop the pipeline of biotechnology workers for the growing biomanufacturing industry in North Carolina. As such, Golden LEAF's Board has final authority over the grants approval process and it will consider the list from BioNetwork when it next meets on December 2, 2004. North Carolina is the third ranked biotechnology state in the United States and the grants will assist BioNetwork to train even more effectively for this industry sector.
Three of the grants are for innovations - curricula and short courses for the biotechnology industry. Fayetteville Community College is planning to use the fund for an internship program for biotechnology students, allowing them to obtain experience in industry to enable them to gain skills that make them more employable. Gaston College will design two cross-disciplinary biotechnology science electives for community colleges. Sampson Community College will use their grant to design a series of courses to ensure the safety of food products from livestock production systems' pathogens. These pathogens can result in disease, bacterial contamination or losses of food quality. These bioagricultural courses will use equipment secured under previous BioNetwork grants.
The remaining 10 grants are to equip and upgrade laboratories at community colleges offering biotech curricula across the state. The equipment will allow existing workers to upgrade their skills and it will allow the colleges to provide hands-on training to students wanting to work in the biomanufacturing industry.
The complete list of grants approved bye the State Board of Community Colleges follows: (Editors please note that the Golden LEAF Board has final authority over the approval process of this list)
BioNetwork Recommended Awards
Biotechnology Innovation Fund Grants
Proposal: Fayetteville Technical Community College Community
College
Project Title: Working for the Future
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $30,000
Proposal: Gaston College
Project Title: Designing Electives to Support Biotechnology Programs
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $15,000
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Biosecurity Innovation Fund Request
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $42,560
Total Recommended Innovation Awards $87,560
Biotechnology Equipment and Related Facility Enhancement Fund Grants
Proposal: Alamance Community College
Project Title: Addition of 15 Liter Fermentor/Bioreactor to an existing
Biotechnology Program
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $114,000
Proposal: Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Project Title: A-B Tech Biotechnology Curriculum Laboratory Enhancement Project
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $150,000
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Teach Upstream Processing
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $124,000
Proposal: Durham Technical Community College
Project Title: Expanding an Organic Chemistry/Biotechnology Multipurpose Lab
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $88,000
Proposal: Fayetteville Technical Community College
Project Title: Development of a Training Package for BioNetwork
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $136,950
Proposal: Forsyth Technical Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Expansion Project
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $150,000
Proposal: Piedmont Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Enhancement (BEE): Enhanced Lab
Technology Program
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $122,200
Proposal: Pitt Community College
Project Title: PCC Biotechnology Laboratory Enhancement Project
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $73,894
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Grant II
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding $46,638
Proposal: Wayne Community College
Project Title: Equipping Wayne Community College Students for NC Biotechnology
Future
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding $43,000
Total Recommended Equipment Awards: $1,048,682
Total Recommended Round Two Awards: $1,136,242
For further information, contact:
Norman Smit
NCCCS BioNetwork Marketing Director
Smitn@nccommunitycolleges.edu
200 West Jones Street
5018 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-5018
(919) 807-7181
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