Science in the Triangle

Forty years after “Made in Japan” was synonymous with cheap, poorly made goods, Japanese technology rules the U.S. automotive industry. The same could happen with biosciences “Made in China,” just faster.

That’s what Rick Williams, chief business officer at the Hamner Institutes of Health Sciences, thinks. (Photo at right.)

China, which has a great scientific heritage, is establishing about 100 research parks, about half of them the size of Research Triangle Park. Large pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, have begun to take notice, setting up shop and shifting research and development jobs to China.

The Hamner has also staked its claim in one of them. In May, the Research Triangle Park-based research center established a partnership with China Medical City, the largest medical research park in China.

North Carolina’s Gov. Beverly Perdue not only announced the deal, but last month she went on an economic development mission to China, which is already one of the state’s largest trading partners.

Following a one-year crash course in learning about China, which included three trips there and visits from eight Chinese delegations, Williams acknowledges that challenges remain. He compares China to a combination of the Gold Rush and the Wild West - an assessment shared by William Zarit of the U.S. Commercial Service, the trade promotion unit of the International Trade Administration. At a business forum in Raleigh four months ago, Zarit said that ”China is not for sissies.”

But focusing on business development, translational research and labor force training, Williams said, “will lead to long-term economic development opportunities for North Carolina with China.

“These opportunities will begin with the Research Triangle Park,” he said, and then expand to research parks in the Triad, Kannapolis and western North Carolina.

Listen to a podcast of Williams’ thoughts about China at: www.thehamner.org/docs/Rick_Williams_-_China_podcast.mp3