PPD, based in Wilmington, NC, will share space in the campus'Medical Office Building with Carolinas Healthcare System. The newspace will be occupied by researchers, project managers, and othermedical and scientific personnel to collaborate with pharmaceuticaland biotechnology companies.

The 350-acre campus, now under construction and eventuallytotaling 500,000 sf of office and laboratory space in threefacilities, seeks to bring together scientists from universitiesand corporations in a collaborative environment. Its goal, amongothers, is to allow for easier transfer of college-generatedresearch to the private sector.

"It's a big, strategic connection for us," Clyde Higgs, vicepresident of business development for the North Carolina ResearchCampus, tells GlobeSt.com about the PPD lease. "It's a goodrecruiter for us as well as for other industry partners."