NC Legislative Life Sciences Caucus
NC Legislative Life Sciences Caucus
Life Sciences Caucus Meetings and Documents
2025 Meetings
March 20 Workforce
The NC General Assembly's Life Sciences Caucus met at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in the Members Cafeteria to learn about some of the workforce development programs created and run by the NC Biotechnology Center to connect high school students and military veterans to jobs in the growing life sciences industry.
The NC Grad2Work program targets high school seniors, providing training and guaranteed job interviews with industry partners like Thermo Fisher and Catalent. The program has expanded to multiple counties, helping over 50 students secure jobs in the past two years.
The MOVE program connects veteran talent to the life sciences industry, offering industry-specific job training, internships and on-the-job experience. The program has placed over 40 veterans with an 85% employment rate. Veteran Alex Riccardi shared how the program helped him make the transition from the military to a meaningful career at CSL Seqirus, allowing him to continue serving his community.
Both programs aim to address the workforce needs of the rapidly expanding life sciences industry in North Carolina, which saw nearly $11 billion in investments and 4,500 new jobs announced last year. NCBiotech is working to sustain and expand these initiatives through partnerships and external funding.
The NC General Assembly's Life Sciences Caucus met at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in the Members Cafeteria to learn about some of the workforce development programs created and run by the NC Biotechnology Center to connect high school students and military veterans to jobs in the growing life sciences industry.
The NC Grad2Work program targets high school seniors, providing training and guaranteed job interviews with industry partners like Thermo Fisher and Catalent. The program has expanded to multiple counties, helping over 50 students secure jobs in the past two years.
The MOVE program connects veteran talent to the life sciences industry, offering industry-specific job training, internships and on-the-job experience. The program has placed over 40 veterans with an 85% employment rate. Veteran Alex Riccardi shared how the program helped him make the transition from the military to a meaningful career at CSL Seqirus, allowing him to continue serving his community.
Both programs aim to address the workforce needs of the rapidly expanding life sciences industry in North Carolina, which saw nearly $11 billion in investments and 4,500 new jobs announced last year. NCBiotech is working to sustain and expand these initiatives through partnerships and external funding.
Feb. 27 State of North Carolina's Life Sciences Industry
Life Sciences Caucus gets reports on NC life sciences growth, SBIR/STTR matching
The NC General Assembly's Life Sciences Caucus met Feb. 27 to hear from the NC Biotechnology Center on the growth of the state's life sciences industry and from the One NC Small Business program on the effectiveness of the state's SBIR/STTR matching fund.
The newest co-chair of the caucus, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, joined his fellow chairs Sen. Paul Newton, Rep. Donna White and Rep. Robert Reives for his first meeting. Chaudhuri is a Democrat representing District 15 in Raleigh. He succeeds former co-chair Mike Woodard.
NCBiotech's Senior Vice President, Science and Business Development Mary Beth Thomas, Ph.D., and Senior Vice President, Economic and Statewide Development Bill Bullock shared the recent TEConomy report that says that North Carolina is one of just three states that saw more than 20% job growth last year and that the state has surpassed the 100,000 life sciences jobs threshold for the first time. They reported that every dollar loaned by NCBiotech generates a $132 return on the investment.
Jess Jur, Ph.D., deputy director of the NC Commerce Department's Office of Science, Technology and Innovation, updated lawmakers on the impact of the One NC fund, saying that every dollar awarded generated a 250% return on the state's investment.
White and Rep. Robert Reives
2024 Meetings
May 1 North Carolina's Innovation Ecosystem
FY25 One NC Small Business Program Funding Request
The Life Sciences Caucus of the NC General Assembly met for the first time in 2024 at the NC Department of Commerce at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 1. Caucus co-chairs Sen. Paul Newton and Sen. Mike Woodard attended as did NC Secretary of Commerce Machelle Sanders.
NCLifeSci President Laura Gunter outlined the NC innovation pipeline for caucus members and reviewed the kinds of funding needed at the various stages of a company's development. She emphasized the importance of grants and loans from the NC Biotechnology Center and SBIR/STTR matching grants from the One NC Small Business Program in fueling the commercialization of new and innovative technologies.
Peter Pellerito, senior policy adviser federal/state economic development & technology transfer lead for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, was also present and shared his perspective on how the North Carolina life sciences ecosystem compares to others he sees around the nation.
meeting at the Department of Commerce
Sen. Mike Woodard and Sen. Paul Newton
Machelle Sanders
2023 Meetings
Sept. 18 Federal and State Policy Themes in Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology
The Life Sciences Caucus met Monday, Sept. 18, at 12 p.m. at the Plant Sciences Building on the North Carolina State University Centennial Campus.
Agriculture is a key economic driver in NC. So, too, is the life sciences industry, where agtech has been growing rapidly. When those two sectors align, it can be of real benefit to the state.
Members of the Agriculture and the Environment team at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization were on hand to give an overview of both federal issues and state issues affecting the AGbio and environmental industries.
- Federal issues discussed included the U.S.-Mexico trade dispute over an upcoming import ban on genetically engineered corn, recent U.S. EPA plant incorporated protectants regulation and the Plant Biostimulants Act in the Farm Bill.
- Issues moving in states throughout the country include legislation banning or restricting vaccination of livestock, incentivizing sustainable aviation fuel production and use and bills banning or restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land, which can adversely impact R&D.
Pairwise, a small gene editing company based in Durham, NC, which has a new produce product on the market, talked about EPA impediments to their business. Representatives from BASF, Hoofprint Biome, Novozymes and Syngenta were also available.
June 28 Innovation
Life Sciences Caucus 28 Jun 2023
May 24 Workface and Supply Chain in the Life Science
Feb. 8 TEConomy report on the life sciences industry in NC
- TEConomy report highlights from NCBiotech
- Evidence & Opportunity 2022: Impact of Life Sciences in North Carolina (2022 TEConomy report)
- Lilly: Invested in North Carolina handout
2022 Meetings
June 28, 2022 Rare "Diseases and Gene Therapy
Gene therapy and rare diseases topic of Life Sciences Caucus
The General Assembly's Life Sciences Caucus met Tuesday, June 28, to learn about the promise of gene therapies as potential treatments for rare diseases.
Nearly two dozen legislators and staff members heard from Priya Kishnani, M.D., and Vandana Shashi, M.D., of the Duke Undiagnosed Diseases Network and Marianne Hamilton Lopez, M.D., of the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy along with Charlene Cowell, executive director of Bleeding Disorders of North Carolina. Caucus Co-Chairs Sen. Paul Newton, Sen. Mike Woodard and Rep. Donna White were in attendance.
Hamilton Lopez told legislators that gene therapies will often differ from traditional treatment in that the therapies may only be administered once as opposed to conventional treatments that are given as multiple or continual doses of medication. Gene therapies are currently much more expensive than conventional therapies, which makes them a challenge for our current system to pay. The upfront cost of these breakthrough therapies must be weighed against the impressive benefits they offer compared to conventional therapies.
Story of Wade Hosey, child with spinal muscular atrophy
Feb. 23, 2022 Tour of NC Research Campus
Sen. Natasha Marcus, Rep. Rachel Hunt, Rep. Robert Reives (caucus co-chair),
Rep. Mary Belk, Rep. Mike Clampitt, Rep. Kristin Baker,
Rep. Wayne Sasser, Rep. Harry Warren and Sen. Mike Woodard (caucus co-chair)
at the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis Feb. 23, 2022
Life Sciences Caucus tours NC Reseach Campus in Kannapolis
Members of the NC Life Sciences Caucus toured the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis on Wednesday, Feb. 23, along with local leaders and representatives of industry, such as Eli Lilly and Company, which is setting up shop in nearby Concord. Read More >>
2021 Meetings
September 1, 2021 Hybrid Meeting
July 21 Hybrid Meeting
June 9, 2021 Hybrid Meeting
Accumulator Ban Discussion 6-9-21
Life Science Announcements Statewide May 2021
May 5, 2021 Virtual Meeting
NCIO Legislative Support Request
Biopharma Manufacturing Career Pathways
February 22, 2021 Virtual Meeting
February 22 Agenda and Presentation
2020 Meetings
October 19, 2020 Virtual Meeting
September 14, 2020 Virtual Meeting
Presentation on COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines
June 23, 2020 Virtual Meeting
Six Companies with NC Funding Responding to COVID-19
May 19, 2020 Virtual Meeting
March 10, 2020 Lee County Tour
February 3, 2020 Johnston County Tour
2019 Meetings
June 19, 2019
Genomic Medicine Presentations
June 13, 2019
May 22, 2019
Presentation by Sharon Brigner, PhRMA
Mike McBrierty, Biogen Handout 1
Mike McBrierty, Biogen Handout 2
March 28, 2019
Presentation by Bill Bullock, NC Biotechnology Center
TEConomy Report: Impact of Life Sciences in North Carolina
2018 Meetings
June 7, 2018
Precision Medicine Presentation
March 20, 2018 Tour of NC Research Campus
Human Performance Research Appalachian State Laboratory
UNC Nutrition Research Institute
DHRI and NCRC Closing Presentation