Mitochondrial Hubs
Emerging powerhouses of the US
In the body, mitochondria produce energy to power the body; across the US, a new wave of cities is doing the same for life sciences innovation. As the sector expands beyond legacy markets like Boston and San Francisco, regions like North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Colorado are emerging as vital hubs of discovery and development. For areas to put their names on the life sciences map, three key factors will come into play in 2025: Access to a talent pool, funding that allows commercialization potential, and a strong real estate infrastructure to support growth.
North Carolina: That Research Triangle Park spark and beyond
North Carolina (NC) ranks as the fourth largest biotech hub in the US, with over 830 life sciences companies employing more than 75,000 people. The industry generates US$88 billion annually in economic impact and contributes US$2.4 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to Brookings.
The state secured more than US$10 billion in life sciences investments in 2024. Novo Nordisk announced a US$4.1 billion expansion in Johnston County to enhance production of semaglutide, the active ingredient in its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Amgen committed to a US$1 billion expansion in Holly Springs, establishing a second drug substance manufacturing facility. Johnson & Johnson invested over US$2 billion in Wilson County to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing campus. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will invest US$1.2 billion to expand its contract manufacturing facility in Holly Springs. As testament to the business-friendly environment, Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin, selected North Carolina as the site of its first North American pharmaceutical manufacturing operation.
NC is working to ensure its talent pipeline progresses alongside its drug pipeline. Wilson Community College is opening a biotechnology workforce training center in June 2026. The state also received US$25 million through the federal Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC), which supports the Accelerate NC – Life Sciences Manufacturing coalition’s efforts to build a more inclusive, homegrown biotech workforce by expanding access and awareness in historically underserved communities.
Ohio: Innovation corridor
As of November 2024, Central Ohio experienced a 29% increase in life sciences businesses over five years, totaling nearly 1,200 companies. Employment in the sector grew by 7% to 18,000 jobs. The industry overall grew by 13-14%, compared to a 1% growth in other sectors.
Behind much of Ohio’s success is the Ohio Discovery Corridor. “Stretching from Cincinnati to Columbus to Cleveland, the Ohio Discovery Corridor is a unique concentration of research expertise. When combining the expertise, capabilities and assets, Ohio is competitive with the top biotech hubs in the country” explained Eddie Pauline, president and CEO of Ohio Life Sciences, Ohio’s industry association, representing 4,900 life science establishments across the state.
This corridor makes Ohio one of only four states with three or more leading life sciences talent clusters a CBRE report highlighted. Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus were recognized for their robust talent pools in research and development, med-tech and medical devices, respectively. Central Ohio’s universities and colleges have collectively granted over 8,700 degrees in relevant fields over the past five years. This talent is leading to expertise. Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, for example, developed two of the first eight FDA-approved gene therapies. The state’s expertise drew companies like Sarepta Therapeutics to relocate their R&D center of excellence from Boston to Columbus, recognizing the wealth of gene and cell therapy on offer.
Texas: Bigger in bio
in the life sciences industry recently. As of 2024, the state housed over 7,462 life sciences businesses, employing more than 116,000 individuals. The biopharmaceutical sector alone contributes over US$95 billion to the state’s economy. Between 2018 and 2021, Texas brought 5,300 patents to market, which included 2,709 for surgical and medical devices, 1,014 for pharmaceuticals and 508 for biochemicals. According to the National Institute of Health, Texas ranks second in the nation in the number of clinical trials. There are 15 medical universities and 18,000 industry-related graduates annually, of which, 900 receive biotech-related doctorates. The state also houses four National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers.
Texas is home to three of the top emerging life sciences clusters in the US: Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth. Houston saw the second-largest growth in life sciences employment in the country from 2022 to 2023, accordingly to CBRE’s 2025 life sciences outlook. In 2023, Dallas was selected as one of the three main sites for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a US$2.5 billion federal agency aimed at advancing research in critical diseases. Austin is among the top 10 cities nationally for bio and health funding, with US$3.5 billion in VC funding raised between 2019 and 2024.
Outside these clusters, in August 2024, Plano City Council approved an economic development agreement between NexPoint and the city for a forthcoming life sciences hub, dubbed the Texas Research Quarter. The first phase of construction of the 91-acre campus will be complete in 2026.
Colorado: High altitude accelerator
Located in the Rocky Mountains, the road into the life sciences has been anything but rocky for the Boulder/Denver research cluster. In 2024, Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem raised US$2.15 billion, marking a 46% increase compared to 2023. Ambrosia Biosciences, headquartered in Boulder, secured US$25 million in Series A funding in early 2025, with US$6 million contributed by Merck. In Q3 2024, construction was completed at Flatiron Park, a 1,000,000 square foot speculative purpose-built life sciences campus consisting of 23 buildings. The Denver-Boulder area ranked 11th nationally for R&D talent, 16th for manufacturing talent, and 18th for medtech talent.
These ‘mitochondrial hubs’ are not just expanding biotech’s geographic footprint, they are energizing the research leading to tomorrow’s treatments.
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