About the BioSciences Management Initiative

 

Mission

The College of Management’s initiative in BioSciences Management will provide the education and experiential platform for acquiring the skill sets necessary for effective management of the biosciences industries.

Background

The NC State University College of Management’s BioSciences Management Initiative was established to provide management education and resources for professionals working in all the industries impacted by biotechnology. Arguably the most important technology of the next 20 years is biotechnology. “Biotechnology” is used to describe an ever expanding set of tools originally developed in academia and now applied to product development.

Biotechnology is a classic example of a ‘disruptive technology’ as defined by Clay Christensen in his book ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’ – it is a technology that is displacing dominant existing technology. By 2007, this disruption is virtually complete for the healthcare industry (i.e. drugs, devices, diagnostics and vaccines), and is ongoing for such industries as agriculture, nutrition, and industrial products. We use the term BioSciences to refer to all of these industries being impacted by the tools of biotech.

The Research Triangle Park (RTP) area is playing a major role in these industries. It is largest life science park and the 3rd ranked life science cluster in the US. The greater RTP area is home to $1.5 billion in life sciences research funds/yr. It is 3rd ranked in number of life sciences companies (528 in 2006) and in total number of life scientists (29,000 in 2006).

The area is ranked number one in the nation in 2005 for its biotech workforce and its human capital; number two for business and careers (2006), and number three for entrepreneurs (2006; number one in 2005). RTP is the 3rd ranked agriculture biotech area in the USA (2006).

The biosciences industries are complex, ambiguous, fast-evolving, highly entrepreneurial, science-driven, expensive and ethically-charged. They require specially trained management in order to compete and grow effectively. The new leaders and innovators of these industries need to be cognizant of, and sometime fluent in biotechnology; importantly, they need to understand how these technologies impact traditional business models.

Managers in these industries must understand the connections between and among all areas of the biosciences industries; including, customer identification and quantification, alliance creation, regulatory processes, entrepreneurship, unique capital markets, supply-side economics, intellectual property management, in addition to its ever-growing cutting-edge technologies.

The NC State College of Management’s BioSciences Management Initiative is building curricula that provide technology and business students the skill sets they will need to manage effectively in this critical set of industries.

The BioSciences Management Initiative also supports the Annual BioSciences Forums. These meetings provide a venue where key industry leaders discuss real management issues with students, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and relevant support personnel.