It Is Here! New Website Announcement

We are proud to announce the release of our newly redesigned website for the Research Triangle Park (RTP). By updating our main site, www.rtp.org, we’ve been able to improve navigation, connect visitors with events happening in and around the Park, and provide enhanced education and decision tools for companies locating in the Park.

• Choose RTP. 27709. It’s the zip code that built the Research Triangle region and helped to cultivate growth and create a strong community. In this section, you’ll learn more about our industries, the Triangle Region and the established network of support organizations and infrastructure to grow and establish your business, our accelerator and incubator spaces and information about our available sites and buildings.

 

• Park Life. Get connected @RTP. Centrally located at the heart of the Triangle, learn more in this section about programs and events, recreational spaces and wildlife. Or take advantage of our community town hall and host your next business meeting at our conference center.

 

• About RTP. With a rich history in innovation, the Research Triangle Park’s creation remains one of the most transformational public-private partnerships in national history. Get news on company expansion plans and job creations, a listing of the 170+ companies located in the Park, information on our partners, and updates on our Master Plan.

 

• Want to learn more about who’s located in the Park? The @RTP 2011 Company Directory is now available for purchase. The directory provides greater company details as well as a pull-out map by company location and industry. Complete the Contact Us form to order.

 

• Looking for jobs? With over 170 companies located in RTP – from prominent Fortune 100 multi-national operations, university spin-outs and start-up businesses in more than a dozen pioneering industries, we’ve partnered with the North Carolina Technology Association and the NC Biotechnology Center to promote job opportunities.

The New RTP Website

Take a peek! And while you’re there, take some time to complete our Contact Us form and tell us what you think. We’re constantly striving for new and improved ways to connect with you.

There are other ways to stay in-touch and informed about Park happenings.  Check out theRTP blog. Or follow us on twitter @theRTP.

RTP firm Aerie Pharmaceuticals raises $30 million

Ever cringe when you have your eye examined and the doctor puffs air at your eye? It makes my eye twitch just thinking about it. That puff of air tests for glaucoma symptoms. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of visual disability and blindness in the world. It wasn’t until my mom was diagnosed with glaucoma that I took notice.

Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Duke University spinoff developing a treatment for glaucoma, has raised $30 million in a series B round of venture-capital financing.  With R&D operations located in Alexandria Innovation Center, one of the The Research Triangle Park’s five incubators, Aerie Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of medical innovations in ophthalmology.

Clarus Ventures and Sofinnova Ventures co-led the round, with participation from Osage University Partners, and existing investors Alta Partners and TPG Biotech.

Aerie expects to use proceeds from this financing to fund continued development of Aerie’s broad product portfolio in glaucoma and advance the company’s lead product, AR-12286, a first-in-class selective Rho-kinase inhibitor, into Phase 3 trials by the end of 2011.

“We are excited about the potential for Aerie’s compounds to offer multiple, improved and differentiated treatment options for millions of patients suffering from this widespread, degenerative disease,” said Tom van Haarlem, MD, President and CEO of Aerie.

The company is also pursuing several other pipeline programs also aimed at glaucoma therapy.

“Despite the fact that glaucoma is a progressive disease, there has not been a drug with a new mechanism of action approved in the glaucoma field since the mid-nineties,” said Dr. Anand Mehra of Sofinnova. “Patients often need several drugs to control their disease, and physicians have limited options with these older mechanisms. We believe that AR-12286′s new MOA, strong efficacy, excellent tolerability, and once daily dosing can provide real value to patients at risk of losing their vision.”

RTP is proud to be home to incubators such as Alexandria Innovation Center that provide the wet lab space that allows R&D start-ups such as Aerie to thrive.  We are even more proud that Aerie Pharmaceuticals is a home grown company, spun out of Duke University, that RTP helped to nuture in order to commercialize its medical innovations.  What a great success story that proves that RTP truly is, “the future of great ideas.”

Bayer CropScience invests $20 million in new BioScience greenhouse at RTP

(Monheim, Germany and Research Triangle Park, NC) Bayer CropScience plans the construction of a new greenhouse at its North American headquarters located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina, for about USD 20 million. The new state-of-the-art greenhouse will be a key facility in support of the expansion of BioScience research and development activities within the United States.

The greenhouse will be designed to conduct GM and non-GM trait research, and also will support discovery research for molecular breeding and the development of data packages for trait deregulation. The total area of the building will be about 5,600 square meters, with about 2,800 square meters of greenhouse space, and will accommodate 25 staff members.

“We continue to expand our activities in seeds traits. With the BioScience Innovation Center in Morrisville and the construction of the new greenhouse, the RTP area is rapidly becoming a major research hub for our company,” said Sandra E. Peterson, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience.

“It has been exciting to work with and support the expansion of Bayer. With our land options, outstanding educational institutions, N.C. agricultural heritage, business-friendly environment and highly trained workforce, AG bioscience has grown and prospered in Research Triangle Park.”

In 2010, BioScience moved ahead strongly and saw a 36.6 percent rise in sales to EUR 687 million (2009: EUR 503 million). The business unit achieved double-digit sales growth in each of the main crops cotton, canola, rice and vegetables. The largest increase was in the cotton seed business in North America.

About Bayer CropScience

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: http://www.press.bayercropscience.com/.

About The Research Triangle Park

The Research Triangle Park is the leading and largest high technology research and science park in North America, covering 7,000 total acres.  Founded in 1959, The Research Triangle Park is developed and managed by the non-profit Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina. The Foundation is responsible for building and maintaining the physical aspects of the Park; attracting and retaining Park companies; and enhancing the competitive position of the Park and the Triangle region.  To learn more about The Research Triangle Park, visit http://www.rtp.org.

Contacts:

Richard Breum, Bayer CropScience +49 2173 38-3125/richard.breum@bayer.com

Cris Mulder, Research Triangle Foundation,  919-433-2009/mulder@rtp.org

A Different Lens for RTP

RTP's 7,000 acres

You know those projects that take on a life of their own once they start? Placing RTP’s Master Plan project in this category would be an understatement – but in a refreshing sort of way. For the past six months, I’ve had the privilege of serving as the project manager/quarterback/person who gets to figure out where to find the answer to various questions, etc. with Cooper, Robertson & Partners and the rest of the consulting team we contracted with to take on this historic task.  In addition to being able to work with a group of thoughtful, insightful professionals who have wholeheartedly taken on the task of helping the Foundation lay the course of success for the Park’s next 50 years, I’ve also gotten a first-hand perspective of what goes into building a 50-year strategy — and the delicate balance between identifying activities in the here and now that will make a difference while not taking any actions that would preclude the Park from being able to answer to future trends/R&D needs.

The most recent “ah-ha’ moment I encountered was while catching up on some reading for another project. In making my way through Richard Florida’s The Great Reset, I was reminded of how the founding of RTP was a spatial fix in the 1950s for the ongoing trend toward suburbia and the desire by corporations to conduct their R&D in isolated campuses. Fast forward 50+ years to an R&D environment where much has changed, but much has also stayed the same. One could argue that the work being undertaken for the new Master Plan is setting the stage for another fix – one that takes the positive benefits of concentrating a critical mass of cutting edge companies, researchers and technical experts and gives them spaces and connections to ensure their innovations continue to flourish. In this new “fix,” there will be greater emphasis on supporting incubation and entrepreneurship to grow the Park’s future tenant base and on providing amenities and other uses within our boundaries that will keep them and our existing companies in RTP. And doing so in a way that preserves the parts of the Park model that continue to make sense and make it a unique place.

Couple this line of thinking with work the Foundation did with the Institute for the Future when we posited in a white paper entitled “Future Knowledge Ecosystems” that going forward, research parks and innovation places will be important not only for who discovers and innovates within their boundaries but also for the connections they have with their immediate region and peers around the globe. In the new global norm where companies search for the best locations to host high-value, specialized and innovation-related activities and where they invest in regions to gain access to highly-trained labor pools, R&D and commercialization capacity, innovation networks and unique business infrastructure, RTP and places like it will be in a very competitive position.

How will all of this great thinking and precedence be used in the final Master Plan? At this point, it’s hard to tell. We’ll likely see different sorts of uses in the Park while amplifying some of the things that make us so special. We’ll likely see RTP playing up its “green-ness” and leveraging the technological advances developed in many of our Park companies to create a more sustainable and “smart” environment for R&D activities. Suffice it to say that it’s been an interesting journey thus far and a great lesson in ensuring that delicate balance of near-term needs and future aspirations.

Giant Interactive Group HQ Shanghai, China - a precedence for marrying building form and nature?

RTP featured on CNBC Squawk Box

Rick Weddle featured on CNBC Squawkbox

What a great morning. Usually I’m running on a treadmill watching Carl Quintanilla on CNBC’s Squawk Box. But this morning, I joined our President and CEO, Rick Weddle at the studio for a live interview with Carl.

As part of this week’s Opportunity USA series, Rick was invited to speak to the current state of the NC economy, job growth and prospects, and how the RTP play a role in driving the region/state’s economic growth.

“I can’t think of too many people who have a better view about where innovation and R&D is headed in this country,” said Carl upon introducing Rick.

With RTP as the region’s connective tissue in bringing together world-class businesses, academia, public agencies and a skilled and diverse talent pool, Rick expanded on the following key areas to cultivate growth:

• Pursue start-up activity to cultivate job growth. “”…driven by how fast we can fund and commercialize IP out of our universities & larger companies.”
• Re-examine our assumptions on manufacturing and R&D as it relates to globalization. “…RTP and economic developers across the country are seeing a push to get R&D closer to production. Companies have been moving their major investments where the growth markets are and we must intervene in the process and hang on to the high-end manufacturing that we have, if we’re going to keep the R&D.”
• Education is the most important thing for high-end economic development. “…we must also look at education from a workforce preparedness lens.”

Great interview Rick. And thanks CNBC for the opportunity to showcase RTP and the Research Triangle Region as a great place to do business.

View the segment with Rick Weddle on CNBC Squawkbox >>

More Density, More Nature

Tian Jin Eco-City, China

More density, more nature.  To most, that would seem like a bit of a paradox.  For RTP, that is one of our future goals.

We recognize that one of the most treasured assets of the Park is the unique, natural environment.  By better utilizing the green space we have and increasing density, RTP will be able to foster increased community, energy, and dynamic collaboration in RTP.  And, in short, create an environment where people are inspired to live, work, play, and learn.

Grimshaw Architects is one of the firms helping to conceive the Master Plan.  The team members from Grimshaw are instrumental in helping RTP address the challenges of blending buildings and facilities together with the natural environment to create unique and physically beautiful spaces and places where collaboration and community can take place. 

Hong Kong Science Park

Maybe it is because I dream of being an architect in my next life, or that I am enamored with all aspects of art history, but when the Grimshaw representatives present their findings in our meetings, I am immediately captivated.  The marvel of these images is that the developments include a high level of density, while simultaneously showcasing a clear reverence for nature.  We’re not sure what this mix of density and nature will look in RTP, but we have lots of best practices and models to draw from as the illustrations demonstrate.

Sonoma Mountain Village

We are currently wrapping up the findings process and are both excited and anxious to begin the plan development phase.  The development phase is a four month process in which the consultants will begin to build a design scheme, develop cost estimates, and create business models for implementation. The direction that the consultants are moving towards as we enter this next phase is to redefine the Park’s relationship to the landscape and ecology, determine how to intensify through increased density, and how to create more clusters to better utilize our land.

As we examine the viability of a community nexus in RTP, one of the considerations will be the types of amenities that will be included in the center.  What amenities would you like in the Park? An ampitheater? A town center? A coffee house? A microbrewery? A charter school?  We’d love to hear from you!

Discovering the Next Generation of RTP

7,000 acres. 1,400 football fields. Manhattan. RTP.

What do all of those things have in common?  It’s the size of RTP’s land mass.  To put it in a local perspective, imagine the distance from South Saunders to North Hills in Raleigh or from I-85 north of Durham to I-40 and Southpoint Mall. That’s a pretty substantial distance!

In our last planning session, the consultants painted a mental picture for us by comparing RTP to Raleigh, Durham, and Manhattan.  When you visualize the density of Manhattan juxtaposed against the green space of the Park, you quickly realize that there is a significant opportunity within the Park.   We are cognizant of the fact that RTP will never be Manhattan, but the Park has a substantial amount of land whose use should be re-thought to be utilized to its fullest potential.  The end result of the Master Plan will be to recommend the creation of unique and compelling land use opportunities that are complementary to our region and urban partners.

The timeline for the Master Plan is scheduled to last 12 months, which is divided into three phases: discovery, plan development, and creation of the Master Plan.  We are currently in the discovery phase (and sticking to the timeline so far!) and have gained fascinating insight about the Park based on the physical, economic, and market analysis that has been conducted thus far.  You’re probably asking yourself, so what exactly does that mean? In a nutshell, it means we are in the process of having lots and lots of meetings.   We’ve had meetings on everything ranging from transit challenges to watersheds that run through the Park.  Because of the true scope of the Park and the project we are undertaking, our team and the consultants are working not only with the Master Plan Task Force and RTP Board, but also current and former owners & tenants, a group of regional municipal planners through the CORE Group (Center of the Region Enterprise), local university leaders, and representatives from Durham and Wake Counties, among others.

As the discovery phase comes to a close, we are looking forward to learning about the findings at a work planning session with our Board and Task force in early December.

As we go through this process, we want your feedback as well.  So please tell us, what would you do with 7,000 acres?

RTP Master Plan

The possibilities are endless. Transform. Revitalize. Modernize. A “great reset.” A new urban form. A community where you’re inspired to live, learn, work and play. Buildings fully integrated into the landscape. Spaces for innovation. Sustainable infrastructure. Ecotopia.

As many of those in our community are aware, The Research Triangle Park (RTP) is currently undergoing a Master Plan. The original Master Plan for RTP was created in 1959, and this will be the first comprehensive update of that plan. Since 1959, demographics and the business climate have changed dramatically, forcing companies to evolve and adapt their business models to stay competitive. As such, RTP recognized the need for our business model to evolve to maintain our competitive edge. The goal of the Master Plan is to continue to position RTP as a global brand and a hot spot for innovation and discovery for the next 50 years to come.

A quick introduction. My name is Liz Hardin and I am the Project Coordinator for the Master Plan. I graduated from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business in May with my MBA. I am new to the Triangle region and also new to the world of urban planning, so my posts will include interesting facts and tidbits of knowledge that I gain throughout the process in layman’s terms.

Fall at RTP Headquarters

RTP is truly a unique place to work. I love living in a region where all four seasons exist. Every morning as I drive into work, my spirits are immediately lifted as I see the bright orange leaves of the maple trees that line our driveway. It is extremely rare to work in an office where you can look out of your window and see trees and wildlife. What will the end result of the Master Plan be? We don’t know. We’re going through this process with an open mind, but we absolutely plan to preserve the parts of the Park that make it one of a kind.

This will be a reoccurring post with the purpose of keeping our constituents and anyone else reading in the loop as we move through the planning phases of the project. We’re excited to share this process with you and hope you will provide us with your thoughts and feedback as we move forward.

Stay tuned!