North Carolina – Regional Life Sciences Roundup – November 13, 2026
North Carolina’s health systems are making moves this week. Leadership transitions are happening at the top while new facilities and partnerships are taking shape on the ground.
Atrium Health committed to a three-year partnership supporting a $62 million pediatric behavioral health facility opening in early 2027 in Charlotte. The 60,000 square foot facility addresses a gap that currently sends 44% of North Carolina children needing psychiatric residential treatment out of state. Meanwhile, Novant Health announced that CEO Carl Armato will retire on January 1 after 14 years leading the Winston-Salem based system through growth from $5 billion to nearly $12 billion in operating revenue. COO John Gizdic will take over as interim successor. In Cary, a pharmaceutical company sold nearly all its assets in a $222 million deal to stay afloat.
Academic institutions are expanding their footprint too. Duke researchers are studying whether home food delivery after hospital discharge can reduce patient readmissions, with early results showing food-insecure older adults who received two weeks of meals had significantly lower short-term readmission rates.
Morrisville-based companies also made progress. Metabolon expanded its Verus Metabolomics Profiling Kit to Europe and added new rodent sample types. Nurse.com launched a mobile app on iOS and Android that allows nurses to connect, earn continuing education, and discover job opportunities. iORGANBIO announced an investment from Mitsui Chemicals to advance AI-driven human cell and organoid manufacturing.
Financial
Tracking the capital moving through North Carolina: funding rounds, M&A activity, and investment trends shaping NC’s life sciences companies.
Lumexa Imaging Expands Partnership with Advocate Health Through New Illinois Joint Venture
Raleigh-based Lumexa Imaging announced a new joint venture with Advocate Health to expand outpatient imaging services. Lumexa is one of the nation’s largest outpatient imaging providers. Read More >
Atrium Health backs $62M pediatric behavioral facility opening next year in Charlotte
Atrium Health committed to a three-year partnership providing operational and clinical support to a 60,000 square foot pediatric behavioral health facility opening in early 2027 in Charlotte. About 44% of North Carolina children needing psychiatric residential treatment are currently sent out of state. Read More >
Cary public company sells nearly all assets in $222M deal to stay afloat
A Cary pharmaceutical company sold nearly all its assets in a $222 million deal to stay afloat. The company will likely shed workers, though they may be hired by the buyer. Read More >
People
Who we’re buzzing about this week: the leadership moves, board appointments, and rising names shaping the region’s life sciences community.
Almac Clinical Services wins Supply Chain Excellence Award at CPHI Pharma Awards 2026
Durham-based Almac Clinical Services won the Supply Chain Excellence Award at the CPHI Pharma Awards 2026 for successfully applying Almac Adapt in a complex, time-critical advanced therapy clinical study. The team coordinated a gene therapy delivery with fixed neurosurgical dosing windows at -80°C storage, completing an accelerated dosing timeline in half the usual time. Read More >
Novant Health CEO Carl Armato to retire after 14 years, COO named interim successor
Carl Armato will retire as CEO of Winston-Salem’s Novant Health on January 1 after 14 years leading the system through growth from $5 billion to nearly $12 billion in operating revenue. COO John Gizdic will take over as interim successor. Read More >
Workforce
The hiring activity, team expansions, and talent trends driving growth across North Carolina’s life sciences and biotech employers.
Workshop brings statewide STEM educators to Elon
Elon University hosted more than 20 high school STEM teachers from across North Carolina for the Rx for Science Literacy workshop on regenerative medicine. The workshop, hosted by the North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research, showcased Elon’s interdisciplinary approach to innovation, giving educators an inside look at faculty expertise and student research. Read More >
Nurse.com Launches New Mobile App That Lets Nurses Manage Professional Life Anywhere
Morrisville-based com launched a mobile app on iOS and Android that allows nurses to connect, earn continuing education, and discover job opportunities on the go. The platform serves more than 5 million nurses. Read More >
Science 37 Named a BioSpace 2027 Best Place to Work
Science 37, a nationwide direct-to-patient clinical research site based in Morrisville, was named a BioSpace 2027 Best Place to Work. The recognition reflects the company’s innovative, radically transparent culture and commitment to clinical quality. Read More >
Who’s Hiring
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Clinical + Commercial
The latest clinical trial progress, regulatory milestones, and commercial launches from companies advancing science from the lab to the market across North Carolina.
Humacyte presents Phase 3 dialysis access data from three trials at VEITH 2026
Humacyte’s acellular tissue engineered vessel will be featured in five presentations at VEITH 2026, including interim Phase 3 results in women, integrated outcomes from three Phase 3 dialysis access trials, and long-term human explant data. Read More >
Priovant’s brepocitinib tested in 16-week trial for cutaneous sarcoidosis
Priovant announced publication of Phase 2 BEACON trial results for brepocitinib in cutaneous sarcoidosis in JAMA Dermatology. At Week 16, 69% of participants receiving brepocitinib 45 mg achieved clear or almost clear skin with at least a 2-category improvement, compared with 0% receiving placebo. Improvements were evident as early as Week 4. Read More >
What did the safety review find in the first DMD gene therapy patient?
An independent Data Safety Monitoring Board completed its review of safety data from the first patient treated with PBGENE-DMD in the Phase 1/2 FUNCTION-DMD clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. No serious adverse events were reported and the DSMB supports additional dosing. Read More >
Ecosystem
The partnerships, programs, and policy moves building North Carolina’s life sciences infrastructure, and the organizations driving it forward.
Metabolon brings Verus kits to European labs and expands rodent testing options
Morrisville-based Metabolon, the global leader in metabolomics solutions, expanded its Verus Metabolomics Profiling Kit availability to Europe and added new rodent sample types. Read More >
North Carolina biotech teams with Japanese chemical giant on cell production
Morrisville-based iORGANBIO announced a collaboration with Mitsui Chemicals to advance AI-driven human cell and organoid manufacturing. The partnership combines iORGANBIO’s platform integrating AI, single-cell analysis and robotics with Mitsui Chemicals’ materials design and development capabilities, including InnoCell cell culture plates. Read More >
Other [Good] Reads
Editor’s picks from across the web: the stories, videos, and podcasts shaping the conversation in NC biotech and life sciences this week.
The student who isolated the organism behind PCR went on to study something completely different
Hudson Freeze, now at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Center, isolated Thermus aquaticus from Yellowstone hot springs as an Indiana University undergraduate in 1966. The bacterium later provided the heat-stable DNA polymerase that made PCR practical. In 1989, Science named that polymerase Molecule of the Year, and sequence-based microbial identification methods now used in quality control labs rely on PCR. Read More >
Can Home Food Delivery After a Hospital Stay Keep Readmissions Down?
Duke researchers are studying whether home food delivery after hospital discharge can reduce patient readmissions. A study of 368 adults aged 60 or older at risk of food insecurity or malnutrition found that patients who received two weeks of home-delivered meals had significantly lower short-term readmission rates than those who did not. Read More >
What’s New in the Duke Inventors Showcase 2026
Duke researchers presented innovations at the Duke Inventors Showcase 2026, including a new medical device for early esophageal cancer detection created by engineers Adam Wax and Norman Wang, along with new breast cancer drugs and 6G wireless technology. The showcase featured inventions at various stages of development. Read More >
On the Calendar
A few of the upcoming events, conferences, and networking opportunities across North Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem that you don’t want to miss.
Pharma 4.0 in Practice: Building AI-Ready, Connected and Compliant Manufacturing
Monday, November 16 · 12:00pm–5:00pm · Durham, NC
Hosted by ZIfo | Register Now >
Invented at Duke 2026
Tuesday, November 17 · 4:30 PM–7 PM · Durham,NC
Hosted by Duke’s Office for Translation & Commercialization | Register Now >
OTC Seminar Series: Innovation Design
Thursday, November 19 · 5:30 PM–7:30 PM · Chapel Hill, NC
Hosted by IC Office of Technology Commercialization | Register Now >
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