North Carolina Biotechnology Center Announces Company Sponsors for
New Industrial Fellowship The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has
announced the five sponsoring companies chosen for the first year of
its Industrial Fellowship Program. The companies chosen are:

• Affinergy Inc. in Durham, which is focused on site-specific biological delivery systems ( www.affinergy.com);
• Aldagen Inc. in Durham, which develops proprietary cell therapies ( www.aldagen.com);
• BASF's plant science group in Research Triangle Park; BASF is an international agribusiness company ( www.basf.com/plantscience);
• Targacept in Winston-Salem is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company ( www.targacept.com);
• Tengion in Winston-Salem, which develops neo-organs and tissues ( www.tengion.com).

  A total of 18 companies applied for the program, which pays two
years of salary and benefits for a post-doctoral researcher with
academic-only lab experience to work in an industrial setting.
Additionally, the Industrial Fellows will have access to programs in
business, intellectual property, regulatory affairs and other areas
to complement their training.

The Biotechnology Center is accepting applications through Aug. 22
from Ph.D. scientists who want to work in industry. Fellows selected
and hired by sponsoring companies will begin on Oct. 15.

The Industrial Fellowship Program is designed to fill a gap for
scientists in need of industry experience as well as for companies in
need of scientific expertise. Few companies offer transitional
opportunities, and Ph.D. scientists coming out of academia are often
dismissed as being overqualified for technical jobs but not qualified
enough for senior positions. "We're very pleased with the response
we've gotten for this first year," said Rob Lindberg, Ph.D., R.A.C.,
director of the Biotechnology Center's Business Acceleration and
Technology Out-Licensing Network. "There were a number of great
proposals and it was difficult to narrow the list down to five. We
think these are excellent transitional training opportunities for
scientists with industry ambitions."

For more information on the program, including a link to the
application, please visit

The Biotechnology Center is a
private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General
Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal
benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research,
business and education statewide.

For questions, contact
Shobha Parthasarathi, Ph.D,
Technology Development Director
Business and Technology Development Program
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
919-549-8859