The following includes select facts from life science history, both global and North Carolina specific,
that help explain the origins of the state's life science industry. Please note that these facts are part of a much larger state-specific
history database that will be launched in the near future. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn about the scientists behind
the discoveries, the entrepreneurs, companies, philanthropists, political leaders, and significant events, institutions
and companies that are the foundation of the life science industry in the state of North Carolina.
If you are aware of a notable event, person, organization/company or accomplishment that we should include,
please e-mail us at: Suggestions@InfoResource.org
1789 -- University of North Carolina was founded.
University of North Carolina (UNC), founded in 1789,
has a rich heritage of academic excellence. Chartered in 1789, UNC was the first public
university in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth
century.
In 1931, the General Assembly redefined UNC to include three state-supported institutions:
The campus at Chapel Hill (now the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), North
Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University at Raleigh), and Woman's
College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro).
In 2003, UNC campuses brought more than $940 million in external grants, largely federal sources,
into the state. Much of this research activity is directly targeted to meet economic,
health, and social needs within North Carolina. Today, UNC is consistently ranked as one of the
best colleges and among the top research universities in the country. The UNC system, with
183,000 students, has nationally prominent researchers in the fields of biotechnology,
agricultural engineering and virtual reality.
1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded.
American Association for the Advancement of Science, founded in 1848,
marked the emergence of a national scientific community in the United States, and was the first organization
established to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of
all its disciplines. Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the
peer-reviewed general science journal Science.
1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presented his laws of heredity.
Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian considered the father of modern genetics,
conducted crossbreeding experiments with pea plants between 1856 and 1863. Through this work,
he established many of the rules of heredity.
"In 1859 I obtained a very fertile descendant with large, tasty seeds from a first generation
hybrid. Since in the following year, its progeny retained the desirable characteristics
and were uniform, the variety was cultivated in our vegetable garden, and many plants were
raised every year up to 1865. (Gregor Mendel to Carl Nägeli, April 1867).
1887 -- The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (North Carolina State University) was founded.
The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now known as North Carolina State University (NSU)
was founded in 1887 as a land-grant college. 1918, the college was renamed North Carolina State College of
Agriculture and Engineering.
Today, NSU is a pre-eminent research enterprise that excels in
science, technology, engineering, math, design, the humanities and social sciences,
textiles and veterinary medicine.
1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) was founded.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) traces its roots to 1887,
when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the
U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The MHS was established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of
merchant seamen -- charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of
infectious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, to prevent epidemics.
During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms
were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments.
In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological
methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island,
New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within
a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to
demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses
(Photo: courtesy of the NIH Almanac).
1902 -- The Biologics Control Act was established.
The Biologics Control Act, established in 1902, had major consequences for the Hygienic Laboratory. It charged
the laboratory with regulating the production of vaccines and antitoxins, making it a regulatory agency
four years before passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The danger posed by biological products that had
emerged from bacteriologic discoveries resulted from their production in animals and their administration by
injection. In 1901, thirteen children in St. Louis died after receiving diphtheria antitoxin contaminated
with tetanus spores. This tragedy spurred Congress to pass the Biologics Control Act, and between 1903-1907
standards were established and licenses issued to pharmaceutical firms for making smallpox and rabies vaccines,
diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, and various other antibacterial antisera. (In 1972, responsibility
for regulation of biologics was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration).
The Marine Hospital Service (MHS), established in 1798, was reorganized in 1912
and renamed the Public Health Service (PHS). The PHS was authorized to conduct research into
noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During
World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the
U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the
laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because
so many local doctors had fallen ill.
1898-1974 -- Luther Hartwell Hodges served North Carolina.
Luther Hartwell Hodges
was the Democratic governor of North Carolina from 1954-1961 and U.S. Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson from
1961-1965. Hodges was instrumental in the early development of the Research Triangle Park -- a public/private,
planned research park, created in 1959 by leaders from business, academia and industry. Hodges served as chairman
of Research Triangle Park from 1965-67.
Following Hodges’s service as governor, President John F. Kennedy appointed him as
Secretary of Commerce where he served until December 1964. Thereafter his energies were
directed largely to the Research Triangle Foundation where he served as board chairman
from 1965 to 1972.
1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.
It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died
from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and
around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans
--civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I,
II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.
On Sept. 27, 1918, the state of North Carolina reported to the Public Health Service.
With cases reported from Raleigh and Wilmington, officials noted "all the hospitals are
crowded." By the first week of October, the disease was epidemic at Raleigh and Wilmington.
A week later, officials reported that the situation was especially bad in Fayetteville.
By the final week of October, officials had become cautiously optimistic, saying that
the situation "is improved." By Nov. 2, 1918, "a general improvement for the state was noted."
Influenza did remain prevalent throughout the state but officials believed, correctly, that
the worst had passed.
1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his
chromosome theory of heredity.
Thomas Hunt Morgan pioneered the new science of genetics through experimental
research with the fruit fly (Drosophila), laying the foundations for the future of biology. On
the basis of fly-breeding experiments he demonstrated that genes are linked in a series on
chromosomes and that they determine indentifiable, hereditary traits.
1937 -- The National Cancer Institute was created.
In 1937, the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) was created with sponsorship from every Senator in Congress, and was authorized
to award grants to nonfederal scientists for research on cancer and to fund fellowships at NCI for young
researchers.
Today, the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the federal government's
principal agency for cancer research and training.
1944 -- Public Health Service Act was established.
The 1944 Public Health Service Act defined the shape of medical research in the post-war world.
The entire NIH budget expanded from $8 million in 1947 to more than $1 billion in
1966, now fondly remembered as "the golden years" of NIH expansion. The 1944 PHS Act
authorized NIH to conduct clinical research, and after the war Congress provided funding to
build a research hospital, now called the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center on the
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Center which opened in 1953 with 540 beds
was designed to bring research laboratories into close proximity with hospital wards in
order to promote productive collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinicians.
The NIH today, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency
for conducting and supporting medical research and is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, providing
leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.
1947 -- Transistor was invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.
The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the
information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen,
Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956
Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.
1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA was revealed.
The double helix structure of DNA, the hereditary molecule is revealed by
two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis Crick. This is one of the key
discoveries of the century. Watson and Crick shared the 1962
Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries
concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information
transfer in living material.
Jack Kilby, an engineer at
Texas Instruments shows only a transistor and other components on a slice of
germanium. This invention (7/16-by-1/16-inches in size), called an integrated
circuit, revolutionized the electronics industry. Kilby was awarded
the 2000 Nobel Prize in
Physics for his invention of the integrated circuit.
(Photo: Jack Kilby courtesy of Texas Instruments)
Jack Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of
microchip technology. He headed teams that built both the first military system and the
first computer incorporating integrated circuits. He later co-invented both the hand-held
calculator and the thermal printer that was used in portable data terminals.
Mr. Kilby officially retired from TI in 1983, but he maintained a significant involvement
with the company throughout his life.
1959 -- Research Triangle Park was founded.
Research Triangle Park (RTP)
is a public/private, planned research park, created in 1959 by leaders from business,
academia and industry in North Carolina, but the idea of creating a research park started
many years before. In the 1950s, many people were thinking about the concept of a research park
including Howard Odum, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and Romeo Guest one of the first people to use the phrase "Research Triangle Park."
(Photo: Karl Robbins & Governor Luther Hartwell Hodges).
In April 1957, an investor, Karl Robbins, was found who agreed to provide funds to acquire
options on land. By the end of 1957, 3,559 acres had been optioned or purchased (441 acres were
pending) at a cost of approximately $700,000. In September, 1957, a for-profit company -- the
Pinelands -- was formed with Robbins as the sole stockholder. In August, 1958, the chairman of
the Research Triangle Committee, Robert Hanes, asked Archie Davis of Wachovia Bank to find
other investors. Davis made two important suggestions: that the non-profit Research Triangle
Committee be re-named the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina (RTF), and that
he solicit contributions for RTF rather than to sell stock for Pinelands.
By December 31, 1958, Davis had raised $1.25 million, and in 1959, the RTI International
(RTI) became Park's first tenant, and a focal point for other companies interested in the
Park.
In 1965, with the establishment of IBM and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Park grew rapidly.
By 1969, 21 companies had located in RTP, and from 1970-1979, 17 additional companies located in the RTP.
By 2000, more than 70 companies established facilities in RTP, with new construction and expansion
totaling over 5 million square feet. The Park Research Center, a campus of about 12 buildings that was
formerly occupied by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was established
to provide wet lab space to smaller and mid-sized research companies.
Today, RTI International is now the nation's second largest independent nonprofit research organization, dedicated to
conducting research and development that improves the human condition by turning knowledge into practice.
Also located in the Park is the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a state-supported
initiative that provides grants and creative services to support biotech companies.
MCNC offers advanced resources in microfabrication and telecommunications and houses the
North Carolina Supercomputing Center. Together, they provide unparalleled resources to
North Carolina companies, the universities, and area entrepreneurs.
1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expanded the U.S. Space Program
Listen to President John F. Kennedy's speech in
his historic message to a joint session of the Congress, on May 25, 1961 declared,
"...I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade
is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was
achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the
Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969. Shown in the background are, (left) Vice
President Lyndon Johnson, and (right) Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn. The expansion of
the U.S. Space Program resulted in the development of a wide range of technology with
enormous benefit to human and animal kind.
(Photo: courtesy National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
1966 -- The Duke University Primate Center (Duke Lemur Center) was founded.
The Duke University Primate Center, now known as the Duke Lemur Center, was
established on 80 wooded acres, two miles from the main Duke campus.
The center’s primary objective was research, and conservation in Madagascar was an
important aspect of their work. Today, it houses nearly 250 individuals across 21 species.
1969 -- Man walked on the moon.
In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, made
history by becoming the first men to walk on the moon.
Listen to Neil Armstrong's first words as he steps onto the lunar
surface (66 kb .wav file). Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and
other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and
veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.
1969 -- Victor McKusick published "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".
Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying
the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead
to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for
inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities).
In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human
Genome Project was established.
McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded
the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In
1969 he published the 1st edition of his
book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man",
one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the
highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.
1970 -- Burroughs Wellcome established production facility in Greenville.
Burroughs Wellcome moved production facility from New York to Greenville,
North Carolina. In 1991, Wellcome launched its rubella vaccine and opened a research site
at Research Triangle Park.
In 1995, Glaxo and Wellcome merged to form Glaxo Wellcome, and in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline
was formed through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. Today,
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare
companies
1971 -- NASDAQ Stock Market was founded.
NASDAQ Stock Market was founded as the world's first electronic stock market by the
National Association of Securities Dealers. The NASDAQ system, created by the Bunker Ramos
Corp. allowed the financial community, for the first time, to determine which market
offered the best price on a given security.
1971 -- President Nixon declared war on cancer creating the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.
On Dec. 23, 1971, the National Cancer Act of 1971, enacted by President Richard Nixon as part of the
nation’s war on cancer, established the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.
The National Cancer Act, "The War on Cancer," gave the NCI unique autonomy at NIH with special budgetary authority.
The annual budget of NCI, called the bypass budget, be submitted directly to the president, bypassing traditional
approval by the NIH or the Department of HHS required of other NIH institutes.
1973 -- Recombinant DNA was perfected.
The modern era of biotechnology begins when Stanley Cohen of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of the University of
California at San Francisco successfully recombined ends of bacterial DNA after splicing a toad gene in between. They
called their accomplishment recombinant DNA, but the media preferred the term genetic engineering.
(Photo: Courtesy Stanley Cohen)
Boyer and Cohen's achievement was an advancement upon the techniques developed by Paul Berg, in 1972,
for inserting viral DNA into bacterial DNA. Cohen's research at Stanford was with plasmids—the nonchromosomal, circular
units of DNA found in, and exchanged by, bacteria, while Boyer's was restriction enzymes produced by bacteria to counter
invasion by bacteriophages.
1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was enacted.
John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for
bringing the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and
is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator
Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and
participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and
remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United
States creating a growing source of new capital.
(Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).
1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies were produced.
In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein, showed how monoclonal antibodies can be generated by
isolating individual fused myeloma cells.
Genentech was founded by venture
capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. In the early 1970s, Boyer
and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered recombinant DNA technology.
Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology.
In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million
with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an
hour on the market. This event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that
event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.
1977 -- First human gene was cloned.
Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger
published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was
awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning
the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental
studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA.
1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.
Diamond v. Chakrabarty, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds five-to-four the patentability of
genetically altered organisms, opening the door to greater patent protection for any
modified life forms.
In 1972, Mohan Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent
application, assigned to the General Electric Co. for a human-made genetically engineered
bacterium capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil. Because of this
property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabarty's invention
was believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills. The application
asserted 36 claims related to Chakrabarty's invention of "a bacterium from the genus
Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energy-generating plasmids, each of
said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon degradative pathway.
Opinions: Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion
of the Court, in which justices Potter Stewart, Harry Blackmun, William Rehnquist, and
John Paul Stevens joined. William Brennan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Byron
White, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell joined.
1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provided for university technology transfer.
H.R.6933, Public Law: 96-517, December 12, 1980. A bill to amend title
35 of the United States Code. This Act known as the Bayh-Dole Act provided for the legal transfer of research and
technology originating from U.S. universities and federal laboratories to private
companies for commercialization. Technology transfer offices are now common in
universities and federal laboratories and are the technology foundation for numerous
biotechnology and medical device companies. (Photos: Birch Bayh and
Robert Dole courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)
1983 -- Glaxo moved to new facilities in Research Triangle Park and Zebulon.
Glaxo Inc. moved to new facilities in
Research Triangle Park and Zebulon, North Carolina. In 1995, Glaxo and Wellcome merged to form
Glaxo Wellcome, and in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline was formed through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome
and SmithKline Beecham. Both mergers resulted in managerial and scientific layoffs in the local
community that have become key personnel in starting and managing other Triangle Park
biotechnology companies.
Today, GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading research-based
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies
1983 -- Orphan Drug Act was created.
The Orphan Drug Act
encouraged the research and development of drugs for rare or "orphan" diseases defined as a disease or condition that
affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.
The Orphan Drug Act provided for financial incentives to help companies recover the cost of developing much needed
therapies for small patient populations. The FDA estimates that more than 11 million patients in the U.S. and millions
more around the world, have benefited from this legislation.
1984 -- Alec Jeffreys and technician Vicky Wilson discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.
In 1984, geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys, and technician Vicky Wilson at the University of
Leicester in England discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.
The new technology was first used in 1985 to resolve a disputed immigration case
that confirmed the identity of a British boy whose family was from Ghana.
In 1988, Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murdering two girls in 1983 and 1986 in
Narborough, Leicestershire, England after his DNA samples matched semen samples
taken from the two dead girls. Jeffreys' work in this case convicted the
killer, but also exonerated Richard Buckland, a suspect who otherwise might
have spent his life in prison. In 1994, Jeffreys' was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II for his services to genetics.
1984 -- North Carolina Biotechnology Center was established.
The North Carolina Biotechnology Center
was established in October 1984 as the world’s first government-sponsored biotechnology center lead by visionary political
leaders including Gov. James B. Hunt, Lt. Gov. Robert B. Jordan, state Senators Kenneth Royall and Gerry Hancock and state
Representative Bobby Etheridge. The Center's Center's mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to
North Carolina through support of biotechnology research, business and education statewide. (Photo: James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor)
Today, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, is a private, non-profit organization with headquarters in
Research Triangle Park and offices in Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greenville and
Wilmington, and is funded by the state's General Assembly.
1990 -- Human Genome Project was established.
The U.S. Human Genome
Project was established -- a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S.
Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The main goals of the
Human Genome Project were to provide a complete and accurate sequence of the 3 billion
DNA base pairs that make up the human genome and to find all of the estimated 20,000 to
25,000 human genes. The project, originally planned to last 15 years, was expected
to be completed by 2003 due to rapid technological advances.
1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) was founded.
Biotechnology Industry
Organization is the world's largest organization to serve and represent the
biotechnology industry. BIO's leadership and service-oriented guidance have helped advance
the industry and bring the benefits of biotechnology to people everywhere.
1993 -- Kary B. Mullis was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
PCR allows scientists to quickly replicate small strands of DNA, greatly simplifying
the sequencing and cloning of genes. First presented in 1985, PCR has become one of
the most widespread methods of analyzing DNA. Notably, PCR requires the heat-stable enzyme
Taq (Thermus Aquaticus) which originated from hot springs located in Yellowstone
National Park.
1994 -- North Carolina Biosciences Organization was founded.
North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBio)
is a private, non-profit corporation that is focused on legislative monitoring and lobbying
activities at the state and federal levels. NCBO represents the bioscience industry at the
North Carolina General Assembly and before state courts, regulatory agencies and executive
branch policy leaders. At the national level, NCBIO works to support appropriate
federal policies and to keep members of North Carolina 's congressional delegation informed
as to industry needs and priorities. Whenever possible, NCBIO collaborates with other
nonprofit organizations and trade associations to strengthen the bioscience industry.
1994 -- Martin Rodbell was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Martin Rodbell of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, was awarded
the 1994 Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine with Alfred Gilman for their discovery of G-proteins and the role
of these proteins in signal transduction in cells.
2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence was published.
The February 16 issue of Science and February
15 issue of Nature contained the working draft of the human genome
sequence (U.S. Human Genome
Project). Nature papers included initial analysis of the descriptions of the sequence
generated by the publicly sponsored Human Genome Project, while Science publications focused
on the draft sequence reported by the private company, Celera Genomics.
2005 -- David H. Murdock announced $1.5 billion North Carolina Research Campus.
David H. Murdock announced a $1.5 billion scientific and economic revitalization
project called the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC). In Feb. 2006, groundbreaking
was held for the first building of the NCRC, the 311,000-square-foot David H. Murdock
Core Laboratory.
David H. Murdock is chairman, CEO and major shareholder of Dole Food Company, a
Fortune 500 company, and chairman, CEO and owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc., a private
company.
2007 -- The National Institutes of Health established the Human Microbiome Project.
On Dec. 19, 2007, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), a $150 million initiative, was established by the National
Institutes of Health with the mission of generating resources that would enable the comprehensive characterization of
the human microbiome and analysis of its role in human health and disease.
The HMP is the collection of all
the microorganisms living in association with the human body, including eukaryotes, archaea, bacteria and viruses.
Bacteria in an average human body number ten times more than human cells, for a total of about 1000 more genes
than are present in the human genome.
2008 -- Patheon, Inc. established U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
Patheon, Inc.
established its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park (RTP). In addition to the
new U.S. headquarters facility, Patheon opened a new pharmaceutical development
laboratory in RTP.
Patheon is a leading global provider of contract development and manufacturing services
to the global pharmaceutical industry.
If you are aware of a notable event or person at your company or organization
that should be included in North Carolina Life Science History, please e-mail us
at: suggestions@inforesource.org.