The results of the employment survey come from Mark Dibner, director of the North Carolina Bio- technology Center in Research Triangle Park. Dibner’s study confirmed that most of the companies surveyed had started small— averaging only 13 employees by the end of their first year. Most, however, showed significant growth, with one firm mushrooming to 160 employees by the end of its first year. On average, the companies surveyed had 86 employees after six years.
The center’s questionnaire then asked the biotech company managers to project what their staff levels would be five years from now. According to the responses, the firms’ staffs are expected to grow by 27% annually, with the average soaring from the 86-employee average now to well over 200 five years from now.
Dibner says that as this growth progresses, the kind of jobs available in the biotech industry will change. He found that production and ...
