The Charlotte Region is emerging as a leader in the life sciences industry. The region’s burgeoning workforce, flourishing growth rates in pertinent and highly technical skills, and recent economic development announcements have played an important role in growing the industry.
Based on key market performance indicators around momentum and talent, JLL named the Charlotte metro as the top potential market for life sciences in 2021. Charlotte has experienced one of the fastest employment growths in the industry. In fact, the Charlotte market has experienced tremendously high growth in life sciences when compared to other top legacy life sciences markets.
Charlotte Regional Business Alliance® researchers Akofa Dossou and Adrienne Hua released their findings at a regional insights forum on Tuesday. Hosted by Novant Health Innovation Lab Executive Director Paula Kranz, the event featured a panel of life sciences experts.
Cory Brouwer, director of bioinformatics services and executive director of research, at UNC Charlotte; Rebecca Hammel, senior director of human resources at Eli Lilly; and Andreas Winterfeldt, CEO, PHT International; focused on the industry trends and competitive aspects of the region. Rasu Shrestha, chief strategy and transformation officer and executive VP at Atrium Health, provided an update on “The Pearl,” Charlotte’s upcoming innovation district.
According to the research findings, the region’s employment grew by 50% this past decade, which is more than double the national average (24%) and added more than 6,600 jobs. Though many industries suffered from COVID-19 economically, life sciences benefited from shifts in innovation in the health care sector, biopharmaceuticals, and R&D.
Biopharmaceuticals in the region soared this past decade with a significant increase of 363% in the regional workforce. This brings a competitive advantage to the region’s life sciences industry, making Charlotte one of the top five markets among the largest 50 U.S metros to have a high concentration of biological product manufacturing, which is three times higher than the national average.
Tech entrepreneurs and startups are essential catalysts to innovation and cutting-edge research in life sciences. Being 45,000 strong, the innovation economy serves to strengthen the entrepreneurial environment for life sciences by providing highly skilled talent with many transferable skills and strong support systems through accelerators, incubators, and venture capitalist investments. Because of the pandemic, many life sciences markets have benefited from the increased demand for new technologies and products. The Charlotte market is characterized as having great tech growth and increasing momentum, both factors which serve to pave the way for the creation of a mega-region for life sciences.
Regional population is expected to grow to 4.7 million by 2050. This will drive employment growth by adding an additional 1.75 million people to the workforce. The proximity to prestigiously well-known research universities and strategic location of being a connector to large business hubs are increasing the available talent pool for existing, newly relocated, and expanding companies. By increasing the region’s talent pool, firms are more likely to relocate and expand their footprint within our region. For life sciences in particular, employment levels are projected to grow by 6% between 2022 and 2026.
Thriving talent in life sciences will allow for inclusive growth as many occupations will require educational attainment and skills at all levels. Companies are looking for technical and highly skilled talent. Job postings include technicians, microbiologists, laboratory analysts, and biomedical engineers. Shifts in talent demand created a domino effect on hiring and retention in a world of reskilling and upskilling. In addition, the pandemic led to a surge in other occupations including respiratory therapists, behavioral analysts, and occupational therapists.
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