It's gold for the 50th, right?

Yesterday, our CEO, Andrew Witty, was the keynote speaker at the IASP World Conference on Science and Technology Parks, held in Raleigh, NC.  The 800 or so delegates to the conference are largely associated with running science parks across the globe.

Andrew was invited to speak at the conference as an investor in innovation, and because GSK has a huge presence in Research Triangle Park (RTP), located near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill.  This year is the 50th anniversary of RTP, a pretty remarkable place. 

In his remarks, Andrew reinforced the continued importance of key elements that make RTP and other science parks successful: a long-term commitment to innovation and strong partnership among academia, government, and business.  These factors created a catalytic effect in RTP that drew other industry to the area and led to significant innovations.  It was in RTP, for example, that our scientists discovered the first medicine to fight HIV/AIDS in humans.  Innovations from other Park companies include the Universal Product Code, 3D ultrasound technology, and Astroturf!

Andrew cited three things in the broader environment that we look for when considering a major capital investment. First is a strong intellectual property framework and enforcement.  Innovation research is a lifetime commitment; therefore, we invest in countries that support intellectual property as crucial to securing long-term value creation. That requires national governments to support and enforce laws on intellectual property.

Second, we need a source of skilled talent, like that available at the three great universities that make up the "triangle" of the Research Triangle Park:  Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and NC State University.  We also need incentives for that talent to interface with and transfer between industry and academia - an open mindset, a porous relationship, and a two-way sharing of skills.     

Third, we need assurances that a marketplace exists for innovation.  We look for pro-innovation, market-based environments where our people see that what they do is valued. 

"Build it and they will come will work, but it's more than bricks and mortar...It's integration," Andrew says. 

And it does work.  Today, there are some 500 biotechs employing 57,000 people in North Carolina.  In RTP alone, roughly 37,000 people are employed in highly-skilled, high-paying jobs, with salaries averaging nearly 45 percent higher than the regional and national average.  We all benefit from the discoveries of those who work at the cutting edge of innovation.

Click here to watch an excerpt of Andrew's speech. It's DIY, so no laughing at the quality.