Editor’s note: Jim Shamp is director of public relations for the N.C. Biotechnology Center and a regular contributor to WRALTechWire.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – A recently published report by the Science Coalition (a group of research universities) lists companies around the United States that were bootstrapped by federal funding.

Significantly, all six of the North Carolina life science companies mentioned were also bootstrapped by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. It’s a clear example of the direct line between NCBiotech awards and follow-on funding from outside sources.

The report, Sparking Economic Growth 2.0, highlights 100 companies that trace their roots to federally funded university research and their role in bringing transformational innovations to market, creating new jobs and contributing to economic growth.

An accompanying online database provides free access to company profiles and allows users to sort companies by federal funding agency, university affiliation, type of innovation and other criteria.

The 10 North Carolina companies listed include the following (NCBiotech portfolio companies in boldface): Agile Sciences, BioMarck Pharmaceuticals, BioResource International, Cree, Galaxy Diagnostics, ImagineOptix, Physcient, SAS and Semprius.

A story about the report in Forbes also highlights the importance of a solid base of research universities to fuel entrepreneurship.

The report details:

  • How university research and the companies born of such research are a driving force behind much of the innovation in the United States, providing essential seed corn for U.S. industry;
  • The impact that research universities have on local economies, including through spin-out companies that locate close to their founding universities, contributing to the formation of regional innovation hubs and creating jobs;
  • The factors that make university research-based companies unique and contribute to their success, including the nurturing ecosystem of research universities, which provides ready access to essential tools like technology transfer offices, business incubators, business schools and workforce talent; and
  • The success rate of the companies listed in a 2010 Science Coalition report, specifically those companies that were less than five years old at the time. Eighty percent of those companies remain operational today.
  • The new report includes comments from Terry Lomax of North Carolina State University. The online version enables readers to click through not only the report, but also an interesting presentation database that lists some success stories from each state.

“Thanks so much for sharing this,” said Eva Garland, Ph.D., when we sent the info to her at Agile Sciences. “It is very exciting to see Agile highlighted in a publication of this caliber!”

The response from Amanda Elam, Ph.D., president of Galaxy Diagnostics, went right to the core: ”Awesome!”

(C) NC Biotechnology Center