Growing, technically skilled workforce including strong growth in related occupations, such as biochemists, microbiologists, chemists, lab technicians and computer engineers. Local colleges and universities offer an array of relevant degree programs, such as the College of Charleston’s interdisciplinary program in discovery informatics, the first undergraduate program of its kind in the country.

Industry-specific incentives designed to foster the growth of the life sciences sector in South Carolina, including:

• An eligibility category for relevant facilities engaged in manufacturing, processing and R&D (NAICS codes 3254 and 334516).
• An enhanced Jobs Development Credit, which allows approved bioscience facilities to capture cash rebates for eligible expenditures.
• The ability to negotiate the apportionment formula used to calculate corporate income tax liability.
• Equipment depreciations at an accelerated rate of 20%, instead of the previous 11%.

More information on taxes and incentives.

Competitive wage structure. The chart below provides wages typically associated with the biosciences sector, or visit our data center to access a more comprehensive list of average wages by occupation (BLS data). For a local wage & benefit survey - broken down by industry sector and company size - contact Heyward Horton at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

Biosciences Cluster, Selected Occupations, Charleston S.C. MSA

Occupation Code	Occupation Title	2008 Average Hourly Wage	2008 Median Hourly Wage
15-1031	Computer Software Engineers, Applications	$35.12	$34.67
17-2031	Biomedical Engineers	$35.97	$42.15
19-2031	Chemists	$31.44	$30.47
19-4021	Biological Technicians	$18.64	$18.77
19-4031	Chemical Technicians	$20.03	$19.16
29-2011	Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	$24.86	$24.74
51-9011	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	$18.29	$17.81
51-9012	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders	$14.84	$14.26
51-9023	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders	$15.65	$15.85
51-9061	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers and Weighers	$17.57	$15.79
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5/2009

South Carolina is a right-to-work state. In 2009, just 2% of private workers in the Charleston metro area were members of an organized union, well below the national average of 12.3%.

Reliable, low cost energy with the state’s industrial electricity averaging 20 - 25% below the national average. The Charleston region is served by two generating electric utilities (Santee Cooper and SCANA/SCE&G) with a combined capacity of 10,275 megawatts, plus two electric cooperatives (Berkeley Electric and Edisto Electric).

Greater Charleston is also part of the South Carolina transmission grid, which is served by four generating utilities with a combined capacity of 19,721 megawatts. For natural gas transmission and distribution, the region is served by Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, a subsidiary of SCANA Corporation.

University-Driven Research, with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) anchoring Charleston’s health sciences sector:

• Research funding grew to more than $217 million for fiscal 2009.
• Dedicated research centers include a nationally recognized Cancer Research Center, a National Proteomics Research Center and a Marine Biomedicine Research Center.
• Drug development strengths include those for oncology, stroke and neurodegenerative disease, plus vaccines and broad proteomics research.

MUSC is a critical element of South Carolina's comprehensive research university network, which also includes Clemson University and the University of South Carolina (USC).

Health Sciences South Carolina is a collaborative network joining medical organizations and colleges/universities from across the state to provide a structure and vehicle for medical research, including clinical trials. Current members include the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and three major healthcare systems: Greenville Hospital System, Palmetto Health and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

South Carolina Research Centers of Excellence unite the state’s three research universities on collaborative research projects. Current focus areas include:

Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Brain Imaging Cancer Disparities Cancer Drug Discovery Cancer Stem Cell Biology and Therapy Childhood Neurotherapeutics Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety Gastrointestinal Cancer Diagnostics Health Facilities Design and Testing Healthcare Quality Healthful Lifestyles Inflammation and Fibrosis Research

Lipidomics, Pathobiology and Therapy Marine Genomics Medication Safety and Efficacy Molecular Proteomics in Cardiovascular Disease and Prevention Neuroscience Proteomics Regenerative Medicine Renal Disease Biomarkers Stroke Tobacco-Related Malignancy Research Translational Cancer Therapeutics Vision Science

Full list of CoEE's.

Marine Biomedicine & Environmental Sciences with five collaborating organizations occupying the Hollings Marine Laboratory, one of three NOAA "Centers of Excellence" in the agency's Ocean and Human Health Initiative. The lab houses 150+ researchers, fellows, students and staff focused in an interdisciplinary fashion on the reciprocal relationships between organisms and their marine environment, with applications for aquaculture and human health and disease.

The five member institutions are:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
• MUSC's Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center
• Grice Marine Lab of the College of Charleston

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's South Atlantic Area research laboratory conducts research to improve genetic populations of vegetable crops and to develop knowledge on disease and pest biology, ecology and epidemiology.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SNL), a key Department of Energy industrial complex, is home to bio-environmental engineering and has extensive experience in the characterization, development and deployment of bioremediation processes for a wide variety of contaminants that regularly plague the natural environment.

The South Carolina Research Authority is a non-profit contract R&D organization established to grow South Carolina’s knowledge economy. In partnership with the state’s three research universities, SCRA has established a network of Innovation Centers and Launch Zones to assist start-up and existing businesses with commercializing new technologies. Through these Innovation Centers, qualifying companies are eligible for equity financing of up to $200,000.

Biosciences Firms in the Charleston S.C. MSA

Company	Web Address	Product/Service
Pharma/Biotech
ArborGen, LLC	www.arborgen.com	Technologies to improve forest sustainability and produce tree-based biofuel
Biochemed Corp.	www.biochemedglobal.com	Rare human biological specimens (primarily serum and plasma) for diagnostics (start-up)
Cell & Tissue Systems	www.charlestonlifesciences.com/site/content/view/72/47/	Cell and tissue preservation and manufacturing techniques for regenerative medicine (start-up)
Charleston Laboratories, Inc.	www.charlestonlabs.com	Opioid drugs with minimal or no opioid-induced nausea and vomiting (start-up)
Charles River Endosafe	www.criver.com	Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) reagents and accessories for endotoxin detection
GenPhar	www.genphar.com	Biodefense, prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines
FirstString Research, Inc.	www.firststringresearch.com	Peptide-based therapies for wound healing, reduced scarring and tissue regeneration (start-up)
Immunologix	www.immunologixinc.com	Fully-human antibody-based therapeutics using a 100% invitro system (start-up)
ImmunoMod, LLC	www.immunomod.com	Therapies for prevention/cure of diabetes and related metabolic disorders (start-up)
Microbial Fuel Cell Technologies, LLC	www.mfctech.net/	Biofuels from feedstocks through a microbial and bioelectrochemical process (start-up)
Raisio Staest US, Inc.	http://www.raisiogroup.com/www/page/mainpage	Stanol ester, an active food ingredient proven to reduce cholesterol
Surfagen	www.surfagen.com	Novel nanoparticle systems for the delivery of siRNA therapeutics (start-up)
Devices
CR Bard - Medical Division	www.crbard.com	Specialty catheters
Ion Surgical Technologies	N/A	Products to lessen reliance on bone-displacing implants for rotator cuffs and ACLs (start-up)
MicroVide, LLC	www.microvide.com/	Microdialysis and microfluidics applications to measure pathways and drug effects (start-up)
Restorative Physiology Group, LLC	http://restorativephysiology.com/	Implantable devices for treatment of diseases of the human spine (start-up)
Revolutions Medical Corporation	www.revolutionsmedical.com	Safety-engineered medical devices, including syringes, blood-drawing devices and catheters
Equipment
Avancen	www.avancen.com	FDA-approved dispenser using RFID for patient-controlled oral drug delivery (start-up)
Belimed, Inc.	www.belimed.us/	Infection prevention technology for medical, biopharma and research clients
Berchtold USA	www.berchtoldusa.com	State-of-the-art, integrated surgical suites
Getinge USA, Inc.	www.getingeusa.com	Surgical tables and lights
Hill-Rom, Inc.	www.hill-rom.com	Specialty medical equipment
NanoScreen, LLC	www.nanoscreen.com	Syringe heads, pipette tips and liquid handling robots for pharma/biotech research
Sabal Medical, Inc.	www.sabalmedical.com	Mobile medication delivery systems with integrated barcode verification
TRUMPF Medical Systems, Inc.	www.us.trumpf-med.com	Products for the operating theatre and intensive care unit
Services
AAIPharma Services Corp.	www.aaipharma.com	Contract development and manufacturing of sterile products for small molecules, biologics and proteins
Appmet, Inc.	www.appmet.com	Dimensional, physical and electrical calibration services for electronic and electrical test equipment
Coastal Carolina Research Center	www.coastalcarolinaresearch.com	Contract clinical trials, medical research and drug studies for a variety of diseases and conditions
D-Finitive Cell Technologies	www.dcelltech.com/	Contract R&D services, specializing in hematopoietic and other stem cell products
GEL Analytics, LLC	http://www.gel.com/	Mass spectrometry analytical services for drug discovery and pharmaceutical clients
NCGS Laboratory	www.ncgs.com	Contract diagnostic and therapeutic clinical trials focusing on infectious diseases and oncology
Palmetto Medical Research (PalMR)	www.pmg-research.com/facilities-clinics/palmetto.aspx	Integrated Site Network (ISN) of clinical research facilities
Pharmaceutical Research Network	www.prnorb.com	Ophthalmology-dedicated contract research services for pharmaceuticals
Source: Center for Business Research, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, 11/2009.