Still alive and kicking – Biotech leader Charles Hamner finds no time for retirement

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Charles Hamner retire? Never.

Hamner, a towering gentleman who has been a rock in the foundation on which North Carolina has built its rapidly growing biotechnology industry, stepped down as head of the state’s Biotechnology Center six years ago. But one would never know that he is supposed to be slowly fading away.

Instead, he is the poster man, if you will, for The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park. An avid tennis player who still finds time to play once a week, Hamner is leading the charge to provide North Carolina with another world-leading center for life science studies.

“I don’t understand how someone who has done nothing gets something like this named after him,” Hamner said modestly.

Reminded that most naming honors go to people after they are dead, he chuckled.

“I hope that’s not a bad sign,” he said.

A year ago, the CIIT Centers for Heath Research changed its name to The Hamner. CIIT, which was founded in 1974, is funded in large part by the chemical industry, but now its focus is turning to more newer and broader area of studies beyond chemical toxicology. And Hamner is leading the charge.

On Monday and Tuesday, Hamner was among more than 800 people who turned out at the 17th Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s annual biotechnology campus. And everywhere he went he generated a crowd.

“We want to provide a neutral interface between the industry, the EPA and the FDA,” Hamner said of the institute’s broader role.

In addition to research and development, The Hamner is providing new business incubator support and working with inventors and universities to commercialize technology.

Work at The Hamner is advancing to focus on genomics and molecular biology and to provide what its namesake describes as “translational science.” The organization wants to protect health and advance the development of safer medicines.

At the biotech conference, Hamner talked with anyone who would listen about his new mission. He also took time to reflect a bit on the growth of the life science industry across the state.

"When we had our first conference almost 20 years ago, we had about 150 people," he recalled. "Now, we have around 800. Some say maybe a thousand."

Hamner ran the Biotech Center for 14 years before stepping away. He served as a consultant for a wide variety of firms for five years and worked with the state to advance such initiatives as a biotech workforce training program and the launch of a biofuels industry center.

 North Carolina’s biotech workforce now numbers around 50,000. The number of life science companies is north of 350. Hamner remembers well when there were just a few companies and a couple thousand workers. The Biotech Center, meanwhile, has increased its staff by a third – to 75 – and has offices across the state.

“The growth has been amazing,” Hamner said. However, he noted that the state can’t rest on its laurels as competition increases worldwide for biotech companies and jobs. While he remains modest and won’t take credit for any of the success North Carolina has bad, people within the industry and in government readily acknowledge that Hamner is a major reason for it.

“We have many advantages in North Carolina, from our quality of life to our universities and much more,” Hamner said.

He could add Charles Hamner to that list. He won’t.

The Skinny will.